Halo-Naruto: The Fire Within
by Azores
Summary: 20 years have passed since the Dominion arrived on Shinsei. Now, a young boy, burdened with a curse and having lost everything, embarks on a journey with his mentor to not only to become a shinobi but to also find himself along the way. Meanwhile, in the Dominion, war brews on the horizon as an old enemy rears its head once more. Naruto's story begins here. Sequel to H-N: Prologue.
1. Odyssey Arc: Part 1

**Hello, everyone! Azores here with another story.**

 **This is Halo-Naruto: The Fire Within, the follow-up story to the Halo-Naruto: Prologue (If you haven't read it, I recommend you do so you have an understanding of what's going on.) and the 'main story' so to say, which will follow around Naruto and Gang as they make their way in this new change world of Shinobi.**

 **So, before we get into this story, I need to give some context as to what's going, since I know some of you reading this is going, "But Azores, you haven't even finished the Prologue. Why are you working on the main story?' Well, to put it simply, I started working on the overall storyboard for the Halo-Naruto story a few months back, and to give some insight on how it would look I started writing the first chapter out, sort of a prototype chapter. Next thing I know, I was just on a roll that wouldn't stop, and before long, I found myself with 5 chapters done and a 6th one partially done by the time I'd stop a couple weeks later. (Wish I had motivation like that all the time!)**

 **I had them read and reviewed by a couple buddies of mine, Goldspark1 being one (you might have seen them in the reviews section of my stories, always love reading Gold's reviews!) and another of which I'm friends with on Discord, and they both thought it was pretty well done, giving me insight and suggestions on parts they thought could be better. But for a couple of months, they were just sitting there doing nothing in my Fanfic Document Manager, and I was starting to be bothered by it. At the same time though, I didn't want to upload them because I wasn't even remotely done with the Prologue. But with the rate my chapters are uploaded, it would have been a long time before they would be released. (I fell victim early on to the old 'upload every story that pops up into my head', so now I have a half dozen stories I'm trying to do.)**

 **So, after some time deliberating and debating, I decided to leave the decision up to the masses. I went on Amino, to the Books & Writing and the Fan Fiction Aminos that I'm subscribed to and left the decisions up to them and to the viewers on FF via a poll, and they largely supported posting the story. So, now here we are with a story. **

**Currently, I have 5 chapters done and ready, with a 6th one that is partially done. The finished chapters will be released ever other day starting today, since I want to wait for people to finish reading each chapter and give me feedback before I upload the next one. The 6th chapter will be released at a later date when it is finished. One last thing I want to add is that these will be the only six chapters up for some time, as I have no plans on writing any more until I progress some more with the Halo-Naruto Prologue. (Preferably after I get 5 more chapters uploaded, but nothing is absolutely certain.)**

 **For the first Arc, this will largely be a story following Naruto and Dekar 'Nythrus as Naruto begins his Journey to becoming a Shinobi, while at the same time learning to cope with the past and Dekar attempts to mentor the son of his deceased friend and attempt to make up for the mistakes of his past. The Naruto of this story is fairly different from the one of the original series. There's still bits and pieces of the old Naruto we know and love, but at the same time, he's now vastly different due to a different upbringing and childhood.**

 **When writing this Arc, I had a lot of inspiration from games and movies such as God of War and Logan. I wanted to have a go at a more somber story than the ones I've told in the past (Though it won't always be like this, there will be good and bad mixed together.), so you might see some similarity from games and movies of similar styles.**

 **Leave a review to let me know what you thought about the story, and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **I don't own Halo or Naruto.**

 **Bold-My Own Words**

 **"Bold"-Demon Speaking**

 **'Bold'-Demon/Dark Thoughts**

 _ **Bold & Italic-Locations, Time & Calendar**_

Normal-Narrative

"Normal"-Person Speaking

'Normal'-Thoughts

 _"Italic"-Foreign Language_

 _'Italic'-Radio Chatter_

 _/Italic\\-AI/Computer typing_

 **Shinsei Seasons:**

 **Spring: April 25 - August 4**

 **Summer: August 5 - October 11**

 **Fall: October 12 -January 6**

 **Winter: January 7 - April 24**

 **Note: The mapping of the Elemental Nations in this Fic is based on 'Elemental Nations Political Map' by xShadowRebirthx on Deviantart. (There's a geography map version, too.)**

* * *

 **!WARNING!**

 **This story contains content not suited for younger readers, such as Violence, Blood and Gore, Language, and Explicit Sexual Content. This Chapter's Rating will be placed at T-Rated. Future Chapters may, and most likely will switch back and forth between the T and M ratings.**

 **Regardless, Reader Discretion for this Chapter is advised.**

* * *

 **-Every journey, no matter how far, begins with a single step.**

 **Eric Walters**

 **-Hatred and fear blind us. We no longer see each other. We only see the face of a monster, and that gives us the courage to destroy each other.**

 **Thich Nhat Hanh**

 **-Just because a person smiles all the time, doesn't mean their life is perfect. That smile is a symbol of hope and strength.**

 **Unknown**

* * *

 **Arc 1  
** **Episode 1  
** **-The Journey Begins-**

 _ **1049 AM  
**_ _ **October 22, 2563  
**_ _ **Fire Country  
**_ _ **Hidden Leaf Village  
**_ _ **Shinobi Academy**_

It was the last day of school before the fall break started. For the next ten weeks, roughly, the academy students would be off from the Shinobi Academy, allowed to spend time with their families until the Academy resumed teaching on January 2nd. Then it was back to the 6-day school weeks, with only Sundays off. Many of the students couldn't wait to get out of school and spend the next three months off from the grueling studies and homework that came with learning how to become a Shinobi. For three months, they could be kids, enjoy life, and spend time with their friends and family. Then, they would spend the last four months of their time at the academy prepping for the Genin Exam in May, which, should they pass will, make them official Genin of the Hidden Leaf Village. But for one boy, however, this day held a much more somber meaning. It was a day that only reminded him of a nightmare he had to live out in his dreams for the past four years.

For Uzumaki Naruto, 12-year-old Konoha Shinobi Academy Student, he just wanted the day to be over with and forgotten. For the past five years, all he wanted to do was forget this day.

But he never would. This day would haunt him for as long as he lived. But he couldn't show anyone that. Not here. Not in this village. He couldn't show any sign of weakness, any sign of sadness. All that would happen is the villagers would take advantage of it. The ones that hated him, anyway, which was 'only' about 90-95% of the entire village. The Terrans living here got along with him just fine, but most of them either didn't live in the village permanently or had moved here after the war.

After the Kyuubi Attack. The one they all seem to think is his fault. That he is the Kyuubi.

He tried to focus on the class subject, Shensei history, as best as he could, but his mind continued to drift and wander. Distractions came too easily, now, and his grades and performance had suffered as a result. Somedays he could barely get through the class, and that said nothing of the classes involving weapons training. It was even worse on the days the nightmares happened.

Not that he cared anymore. No one else did.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 'Stop it. That's not true.'

 **'You know it is...'** A malicious voice echoed in his mind. He shook his head slightly, trying to regain his composure. No one could see him like this. No one. Was it hot in here or was it just him? His mouth was so dry. **'You are alone... A freak...'**

'Stop it!' His chest felt like it was tightening up. His clothes were constricting him. He couldn't breathe.

 **'They will know, soon enough... Then you will have no one... As you should...'**

"Pst. Naruto."

He snapped his head to his left, towards his classmate. Yamanaka Ino. Probably one of the few people he could call a friend. Her parents were friendly with him, too. She had her long platinum hair down today, rather than having it up in a ponytail like she usually did. She was wearing a teal-colored long sleeve shirt and dark blue pants, which hugged her figure. (Which was pretty well developed considering she was 12.) Her light blue eyes stared at him in concern and confusion. She didn't know. She could never know.

 **'She will know... And leave you like everything else... You deserve to be alone...'**

Despite the thoughts and anxiety building up within him, Naruto managed a small smile and whispered, "Yeah, Ino. What's up?"

"You look a little pale and just... out of it. Are you okay?" she whispered, not wanting Iruka-sensei to overhear them.

"Yeah, sorry. Just spaced out for a moment." He lied, hoping she would buy it. She stared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowing. Thankfully, her attention was taken off him when Umino Iruka began speaking up again.

"Alright now, class. For our last subject of the day, we are going to go over the Great War, otherwise known as the Shensei Great War, and its effects on the Elemental Nations and the Hidden Villages. Now, we'll start with something easy. Who can tell me when the Great War started and officially ended?"

A hand quickly shot up on the other side of the room. "Yes, Sakura-chan."

12-year-old Haruno Sakura stood up, her long pink hair swaying as she did, and spoke, "February 14, 2551, sensei. The war officially ended on May 3, 2555, though the Aquarii Conflict wouldn't end until October 16 and resistance groups continued to fight until the end of the year. Also, the Dominion often call the opening attack as the Saint Valentine's Day Offensive since it was done on one of the Terran holidays."

"Very good, Sakura-chan. You may be seated. Now, the Great War-"

Naruto's attention on the subject, despite loving to learn about the Great War, was completely taken away the moment he laid eyes on her. The light red dress she was wearing suited her. Sakura was one of the few distractions he didn't mind. Her long pink hair, her soft, fair skin, and those bright emerald-colored eyes of hers. As far as he was concerned, she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

 **'She will never love you... No one does...'**

He grunted, his eyes narrowing as he took in a deep breath. 'Ignore the voice. It's not real. It's not you.'

Though, he solemnly had to agree somewhat. The chances of Sakura reciprocating his feelings were slim to none. Like Ino and many of the girls in his class, she only had eyes for one guy. Much to his and every other guys' irritation. And that bastard was-

"NARUTO!"

He jumped in his seat as he snapped his head forward to his teacher. Iruka-sensei had been calling his name, and he hadn't heard. That was bad on his part, made even worse because Iruka was maybe one of the only teachers in the academy that seemed to tolerate him. Now, he was standing there, hands on his hips and glaring at him. It felt like the entire class was now looking at him. "Nice of you to finally pay attention. Care to answer the question?"

He sheepishly lowered his head and quietly replied, "I'm sorry Sensei. Could you please repeat the question?"

Iruka narrowed his eyes, "Next time. Pay. Attention. How are you expecting to become a shinobi if you can't even pay attention to a simple history lesson?" He could hear most of the class giggled and snickered at him. He didn't like being the center of attention. That usually led to... bad things.

Ultimately, Iruka sighed and continued, "Now, as I was asking, can you tell me one of the main reasons why the war was fought?"

 _ **Afternoon...  
**_ _ **1631 PM**_

Class finally ended, and the students were allowed to go home. Naruto made his way out of the academy grounds, making sure his backpack was secured and hoping to sneak away before anyone notices him. Fall had come to Konoha, with the weather cooling and the leaves turning their autumn colors. Soon enough, every tree would all have red, orange, and amber leaves on their branches, then lose them entirely when winter came. A cool breeze blew past him, but his hoodie, light brown in coloring, blocked most of it out. His blonde hair, wild, spiky and unkempt, swayed slightly in the breeze. His cerulean-colored eyes looked around at the people going about their lives. Occasionally, he'd see someone glaring at him when they recognized him, but he did his best to ignore it.

He caught a glimpse of pink hair on the other side of the ground, which caught his attention. There she was again. Sakura was walking at a brisk pace, her pink hair flowing gently behind her as she did. Where was she- oh. Him. Of course, it was him. Sure enough, she was walking up to the most desired boy in the school. The one nearly every girl in school wished to date, marry, and all that garbage.

Uchiha Sasuke. The 'Last Uchiha.' 12 years old. Pitch black hair, with fair skin, and onyx-colored eyes. Wearing his typical attire, with the Uchiha Clan symbol proudly on display on the back of his hoodie. His clan had been tragically murdered, wiped out might be a better description, by his older brother Itachi before he went rogue. It had made him into a quiet and reserved individual, rarely ever speaking and if so, never more than a couple of sentences. And after going through such a traumatic experience and being the only heir left of the Clan, that was loyal anyway, the entire village pitied him, treating him damn near like royalty, and every girl wanted to marry him.

Naruto already knew what was about to happen next, having witnessed it a hundred times from a hundred different girls trying to talk to the guy.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun." Sakura greeted, a light blush appearing on her cheeks as she spoke to her crush, "How are you, today?"

"Hn." Came the typical response, not even bothering to look at her. That irked Naruto to no end. The jerk could at least say hello back or something. He understood the guy was withdrawn, 'But for Kami's sake, at least tell her you're not interested or something.'

Either way, it didn't deter Sakura, who pressed on, "So, I-I was wondering if you would maybe like to walk back together?"

"No." The response was quick and cold.

This deflated the girl's resolve somewhat, but she still tried again, "Come on, Sasuke-kun. Surely you don't want to walk-"

"Tch. You're annoying." And with that, Sasuke quickly walked away, leaving Sakura dejected and hurt as he walked off without even batting an eye at her.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the whole event. It infuriated him to no end seeing the amount of love and affection that was thrown Sasuke's way, the number of girls who were always boldly professing their love for him. And yet, despite all of that, what does he do? Doesn't even bat an eye to it. Sasuke has the whole village eating out of his hand, might as well be royalty as far as the council and the villagers were concerned, and yet he doesn't do anything with it or even seem to acknowledge it most of the time. He just stayed closed up or shuts down any girls who try to ask him out.

Don't get Naruto wrong, now. He understood and sympathized with the guy, knowing first hand just what he went through, but Naruto just couldn't understand how somebody with that much love and affection being thrown at him could sit there and cast it all aside. It's like he didn't want it. Like he just wanted to alone, brooding and miserable. Why? Why would you want to mope and be miserable? Why not take advantage of everything being handed to you? All that love and adoration?

Why couldn't he have that kind of love and adoration?

 **'Because you're a freak... Unloved and unwanted...'**

He shook his head, clearing his head and steadying his breath. He looked back to see Sakura slowly walking home, clearly downtrodden and upset. He frowned. Naruto always hated seeing her upset. But what could he possibly do? Should he try talking to her? He had always wanted to, maybe this was the opening he needed. He sighed at that thought. But what the hell would he even say? What could he say? It wasn't like he was close to her. They weren't even friends, to that regard. How could he possibly get Sakura to look at him like she did Sasuke when he didn't even know what he could do to talk to her, let alone comfort her?

 **'You don't even exist to her...'**

He sighed, glancing down. Naruto knew he couldn't do anything to help her. As usual. He turned around to leave, with nothing else left here for him to do. He had managed to lose Ino after she stopped to use the restroom, so hopefully, he could go and make one last stop before tonight without having to confront her about what happened in class today.

"Hey, you." Damn. So much for that.

He turned back around to see Ino standing there, looking at him. She knew something was up. Naruto gave her a small smile and a wave, hoping to convince her everything was fine.

Through encouragement and insistence by her mother, Ino had at first been reluctant to interact with Naruto as a kid. He had something of a reputation with the adults, (What exactly, she didn't know, nobody would say.) which lead to many of kids keeping their distance from him. But not her mother. Mom had always seemed to think very highly of Naruto and was very affectionate towards him. Through her mother's insistence, the two came to realize they had a lot in common, such as a fondness for flowering. And soon enough, they had become... well, maybe not best friends, but friends definitely.

"Hey, Ino. What's up?" He asked as they started walking.

"Come on. Out with it."

Naruto knew what she was asking about, but tried to throw her off with a joke.

"Sorry, I don't know where Sasuke takes his baths."

That earned a gawk and a blush from the platinum blonde, "T-that's not what I meant, smartass!" Despite how he was feeling right now, he couldn't help but let out a chuckle, which only had Ino glaring at him. "Jerk. Maybe I should go talk with 'Sakura-Chan.'" she fired back, adding the 'chan' at the end that Naruto liked to use so affectionately. Now it was his turn to gawk and blush, "P-please don't. That's the last thing I need." Ino smirked and stuck her tongue out at him. He let out a groan, "Kami, if anything, she'd probably think you're just trying to get her to stop chasing Sasuke."

"Hmph, doesn't sound bad. Seems like a win-win to me." He heard her mutter. She then turned her head to and spoke, "Seriously, though. What happened back in class? You looked like you were about to faint. Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, Ino. Really. It's just been a rough day, that's all." He tried to dodge her questioning, hoping she would drop it altogether.

 **'You're anything but fine... You're a freak...'**

She stared at him for what seemed like an eternity, before finally sighing, "You know mom worries about you. Especially on... today."

 **'Monster...'**

"I don't wanna talk about it." He sharply replied, knowing where this was going. "Don't worry. I told you, I'm fine."

 **'Demon...'**

"You sure don't look it. Did you even get any sleep last night?" Ino asked him, crossing her arms, "Mom worries about you, and I hate when she does because she always turns into a nervous wreck when she does. And it's even worse on today."

 **'You got them all killed...'**

"She doesn't need to worry about me! She's not my mother!" He finally snapped, loudly. He just wanted her to drop it. Leave him be.

"Then you should tell her that!" Ino snapped back.

Things got quiet between the two after that. For several moments, neither one said anything as they walked down the street. Ino was looking away from him, fuming at Naruto's seemingly lack of care over her mom worrying about him, and Naruto was too busy battling the demons in his head trying to calm down and not have a mental breakdown. After several moments, Naruto finally regained control of his emotions and looked over at Ino. She wasn't looking at him. He frowned, looking away out of shame, before quietly speaking, "I-I'm sorry, Ino-chan. I... I know I'm not okay. I have a lot going on right now. And whenever it comes around to talking about... abou-" He stopped for a moment, refusing to let himself get choked up, swallowing before he continued, "I just hate talking about it. I just want this day to be over and forgotten."

Ino glanced over at him, her features softening as she let out a breath, "Will you at least come over and tell her hi? It's been a while since you came over and you know how much she loves having you visit."

He looked over to her, noting the concerned look on her face. He nodded softly as the two made their way towards the Yamanaka Compound.

 _ **Approx. 30 minutes later...  
**_ _ **Yamanaka Compound  
**_ _ **Yamanaka Flower Shop**_

The Yamanaka Clan had never been a large clan like that of the Hyuugas or the Uchihas, and it showed in their compound. The last time they ever had more than 100 members were nearly 50 years ago. Nowadays, thanks in part to the war and the overall decline in the Hidden Villages in the post-war years, the clan had maybe 40 or 50 members. Despite their smaller size, they still held considerable influence in both the Village and its Shinobi Council thanks to their mind-walking Kekkei Genkai. Their Clan Compound showed this, even if it was more modest than that of the Hyuugas' or Uchiha's estates. Rising three stories at its highest, though the majority of it was only two, the compound was a sandy gold color, with the roof being a light brown. Roses, Tulips, Sakurasou, and many other flowers from all over the planet and galaxy could be seen decorating the walls of the compound in many beautiful patterns. There were only two entrances to the Compound, one being the main entrance itself and the other one being through the Flower Shop that the clan operated.

Naruto had always thought that their compound was rather beautiful, but noticed a couple of bullet holes remained in the upper section of the building's wall. Reminders from the war, when the Hidden Sound had raided the Hidden Village in their attempt to destroy it during the Iron League's Keishi Offensive. (Or were they from when the Kyuubi attacked?)

"So, did those Lotus flowers ever come in?" Naruto asked.

The platinum blonde smiled and nodded, "Mhm. And we got some narcissus from Water Country a couple of days ago. Still, I think the crate of silver woodland poppies we got from Gilrose were prettier. We sold out of them quicker than we could replace them."

"Yeah. Wish I could have grabbed a couple."

"How's your little garden doing?"

He shrugged, "It's doing okay. Seen better days but it's surviving at least. I think this summer was a little harsh to it. I don't know if it's going to survive winter."

"Ugh. Tell me about it. This summer was horrible. So hot and mushy. And I didn't even get a chance to go to the pool. And the weather guys are saying some sort of... I don't remember, something to do with a change in the atmosphere or climate was going to make this coming winter pretty cold." Ino replied.

"Wonderful," Naruto grimly remarked.

The two walked inside the flower shop. It wasn't busy, as most of the customers had already done their shopping earlier. They walked up to towards the counter, where they could hear a television reporting the news, as a news reporter spoke, _'Representatives from Keishi have announced that Fire Country and other members of the Coalition would renew and revise their trade agreements with Wind, Snow, and Water Country. Though none of these nations are a part of the Coalition, they have maintained strong economic and military ties, especially in the post-war years since the end of the Great War. Chief of Economics Ishino Fusakane commented that the renewing and revising of the trade agreements was for increasing prosperity and relations between the Elemental Nations and that he was looking forward to seeing the negotiations through.'_

They then heard the sound of gunfire and explosions come out from the TV as the reporter continued, _'Fighting in the former Rice Country Capital of Narakita has now entered its 6th day as Hidden Sound Insurgents continue to battle Dominion Troops inside the city. Now, airstrikes and the sounds of firefights are almost constant throughout the city. According to unofficial reports and civilians from inside the city, the Insurgents have managed to seize several blocks and neighborhoods within the capital, but are now being pushed back by fierce counterattacks from the Dominion forces. While it's still rather unclear as to just what Orochimaru, the leader of the Hidden Sound Insurgency, was hoping to achieve with this attack, but according to Dominion sources, the casualties have reached into the 10s of thousands, in both soldiers and civilians as Sound Insurgents continue to kill indiscriminately. Many civilians are afraid to even leave their homes, due to the number of IEDs, suicide bombers, and even civilian hostages being used by the Hidden Sound. The Rice Occupational Force Commander, Lieutenant General Gale Conway, was quoted saying-'_

"Hey, mom," Ino spoke up as the two reached the counter. Behind the bar, watching the news, was an older woman with blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She looked like an older, grown-up version of Ino, just with darker blonder hair and darker blue eyes that had pupils. She was wearing brown pants and a simple white shirt with a blue apron wrapped around it. Upon hearing Ino, Yamanaka Nozomi turned to face the two, a smile on her face as she started to speak but then noticed Naruto was there, too.

She smiled as she walked around the counter and wrapped Naruto up in a hug, "Hi, Naruto! How are you? It's been a while since I've gotten to see you!"

Naruto weakly hugged her back, smiling softly, "H-Hi, Nozomi-chan. Sorry I haven't visited in a while. I've just... been busy."

Nozomi broke the hug to look at him, a hint of concern on her face as she studied him. But she smiled regardless, "Well, it's okay. You're here now." She stood up and walked back over to the counter, turning the volume on the TV down. "So, how's school going?"

"Good," He lied. Ino gave him a knowing look.

"Really? You aren't having any problems?" Nozomi asked concerned.

"Nope. None." Naruto quickly answered, "Everything's been going fine." He noticed Ino giving him a look and quickly shot one back. He didn't want her to say anything about today. He didn't like worrying Nozomi. This was nothing to fret over, so she didn't need to know about it.

 **'Liar...'**

"Well, okay..." Nozomi seemed to concede, before looking over to her daughter, "What about you, sweetie? Did anything interesting happen today?"

Ino gave her mom a look, clearing wanting to tell her about what happened with Naruto, but he gave her a pleading look, desperate for her not to say anything. After a couple of seconds, Ino conceded, "No, not much mom. Just the usual boring study sessions and history lessons."

"Hm, well make sure you two pay attention in class. Those 'boring' sessions and lessons are more helpful than you think. Kami, the last thing I want is for either of you to be thrown into something as horrible as that war." Nozomi said as she glanced at the TV, still talking about the fighting happening in Rice Country. "For some people, that war still hasn't ended." She quickly changed the subject, "Enough about that, though."

"Well, this has been fun and all, but I'm going to take a bath, now." Ino chimed in, giving Naruto a poke on the head, "Later, dork."

"Later, bimbo." He replied, sticking his tongue out at her as she walked behind the counter and out the back door to the clan compound. Leaving Naruto alone with her mother, who merely smiled at him.

"W-well, it was good seeing you, Nozomi-chan. I'm gonna buy some flowers, then head out-"

"Naruto."

He stopped where he was when he saw the Yamanaka Matriarch looking at him with her arms crossed. A concerned look was on her face. "Do you honestly think, after all the years I've known you, that I can't tell when something's bothering you, or when you're upset." He fidgetted uncomfortably under her gaze, trying not to look her in the eyes.

"I-I don't know what you-"

With a sigh, Nozomi calmly walked over and knelt down in front of him, holding his hands in her own. "Look at me." He didn't do it immediately, so she calmly repeated herself. After the second time, he finally looked her in the eyes. "I know you don't like to talk about what happened. I know that you're having nightmares and trouble getting through the day. That you feel trapped and helpless. And I know you like to pretend that nothing is wrong just so I'm not getting worried about you. But you can't keep this all bottled up inside you, sweetie. You need to come to terms with it. Otherwise, you're never going to start healing. You're a strong young man, I know you are. You just need to start believing it." She smiled softly, wrapping him up in a hug once more as she spoke again, "No matter what, our door is always open to you. If you ever want to talk or get something off your chest, or simply stop by. Okay?"

Naruto didn't say anything, merely nodding when she finished. Nozomi and her family had been among the handful that had ever treated him decently. She had always acted like a mother towards him, always asking him how he was doing, if he was eating right, getting enough sleep, etc. Even when he had been in the orphanage, she would stop by and spend some time with him. He always had kinda hoped she would adopt him, but it never happened.

He didn't have the courage to ask her why she never did if she cared about him so much. Maybe he was afraid of the answer he'd receive.

 **'It's all a ruse... They don't really love you...'**

"Thank you, Nozomi-chan." He quietly said. "I... I'd like to buy some flowers, please."

Smiling softly, Nozomi stood up and walked over to one of the flower sections, "The usual or something different."

"The usual."

After a couple of minutes, Nozomi came back with three bouquets of flowers, each one filled red, roses and white camellias, with violet statice wrapped around their sides. She handed them down to the boy, who nodded and took them from her. Naruto started to fish out his wallet, readying to pay, but Nozomi shook her head. "Don't worry about it, sweetie."

"I-no, it's fine. I don't mind paying-"

"And I told you it's fine. On the house." She smiled. Naruto was hesitant, but ultimately conceded and muttered a 'thank you.' Naruto turned to leave as he heard say, "Bye, Naruto. Take care. And remember, if you need anything, we're always here for you." He turned around and gave her a soft smile, waving as he walked out the door. He didn't have the heart to tell her that it would be quiet sometime before she saw him again, if ever. What he was about to embark on, was extremely risky, to say the least.

But first, one last stop.

* * *

 _ **Konoha Cemetery/War Memorial**_

The cemetery built in the eastern part of the village was a relatively new addition to the Hidden Leaf, as per standard operating procedure, shinobi didn't receive burials. Instead, they were cremated to prevent any possibility of a rival nation digging the body up and extracting secrets. Even a corpse can provide useful intel. But the ordinary civilian, the soldiers that hadn't been shinobis, weren't bound to this rule. If desired by the family, they could receive a proper burial. A great many that died in the war were buried here, reminders of a time when some brave, determined souls gave everything to defend their home. Some civilians were buried here, too, but most of the graves here belonged to soldiers that had died during the Great War. In the center of the cemetery, several large memorial plaques were built that listed all the Shinobi who died in the line of duty. But Naruto wasn't here for any of those.

He walked a ways back, past the Shinobi memorial plaques, where many of the civilians were buried. Most of the villagers didn't like to come here, so usually, it was pretty devoid of people. After navigating a few rows that he's walked pass numerous time in the past, he finally came to a stop on three particular tombstones. There was a small angel on each of them, almost as if they were watching over the graves of the deceased. He always liked the idea of a guardian angel. Something watching over you even in your darkest times, protecting you.

Maybe his own mother was watching over him. Or perhaps it was all just another lie.

His heart was caught in his throat as he quietly walked up to them, his breath unsteady as his eyes read out the three names on the tombstones.

* * *

-Harrison Rossburg-

Dominion Ambassador 2552-2559

Loving Father and Husband

April 2, 2516 - October 22, 2559

-Juliana Rossburg-

Wonderful Mother and Wife

September 9, 2519 - October 22, 2559

-Riley Rossburg-

Beloved Daughter and Sister

May 14, 2552 - October 22, 2559

* * *

 **Begin Song- 'Never Forget (Midnight Version)' from Halo 4 OST Vol. 2**

He stared at the tombstones for what felt like an eternity, a violent swirling vortex of emotions swelling inside him as he looked at them. Anger. Rage. Despair. Sadness. Guilt. Loneliness. Helplessness. Here lied an entire family. Good, innocent people. Why were they all dead?

Because they had dared to show him compassion. Adopting him when no one else wanted him. Gave him a loving home, a loving family, the things he had always longed for as a child. And how were they repaid with such compassion? They were murdered in cold blood. Victims of a sick group of murderers who had been trying to kill him. In a way, they succeeded. He felt empty, hollow on most days. The worst part of it all was that they had gotten away with it. To this day, no murderer has been identified, even though they continue to harass and torment him. They haven't been able to often, mostly thanks to him. His protector.

He swallowed a lump in his throat, his breathing heavy, as he quietly knelt down and placed the first bouquet of flowers on the first tombstone. Harrison, a soft-spoken man who despite being busy with his work, always tried to make time for the family. He had been supportive of him joining the academy, believing that every man should at least know how to defend himself and his family.

 **'It's your fault...'**

He laid the next one down, his eyes starting to burn up. Juliana. A kind-hearted woman who always encouraged him and set an example on how to be a decent human being, rarely ever getting mad at him. She introduced him to the idea of angels and guardian angels. She had never been comfortable with him becoming a shinobi student, instead wanting him to be something that didn't require him to fight and kill but had supported him regardless.

She had been the motherly figure he had always wanted growing up.

 **'They're dead because of you...'**

Naruto could feel something wet streaming down the sides of his face, not that he bothered trying to fight them anymore. His breathing felt short and suffocating, his hands shaking slightly as he came to the last grave. The one that tormented him the most.

Riley. His little sister.

 **'You got them killed...'**

Stop it.

 **'A monster like you deserve to be alone...'**

Stop it!

 **'YOU KILLED THEM! YOU KILLED HER!'**

The last bouquet fell out of his hands as he dropped to his knees, grasping his head as he gasped out, a sob escaping him as his mind relived the horrid memories of that night. Juliana slumped over the table with a knife in her chest. Him, a sword in his gut pinning him against the wall, blood pooling around him. The kitsune-masked killer glaring at him. Riley... Riley, held up by her hair, looking at him with horrified, tear-filled eyes as she pleaded for her 'big brother' to save her. Just before the kunai slit her thro-

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry!" he cried out, unable to control himself anymore. Tears flowed freely down his face as he sobbed quietly, repeatedly apologizing as he tried to control himself. But the tears, the anguish inside him, refused to stop. For several minutes, he laid there before his step-sister's grave, weeping softly and muttering apologizes to his deceased family.

 **(Song fades out at 02:10)**

Behind him, a towering figure could be seen standing over him. The 8-foot tall being was concealed in a massive black cloak that hid his massive frame from view, which blew gently in the wind. The only thing visible through the hood was the being's Amber-colored eyes. Aside from the movement of his cloak, the man was motionless, quietly watching over the young boy as he grieved. He would let him have his moment to mourn. But not too long. They needed to move soon if they were to leave undetected. He was good at masking his presence, but eventually, someone would notice him here.

After a couple more minutes of silence, he decided the boy had grieved enough. The boy couldn't be allowed to just wallow in grief, or he would never fully heal and grow into the warrior he needed to be. Even with the massive level of peace being experienced following the Great War, this world was still unmerciful to the weak and helpless. There were still many criminal elements that plagued this planet's countryside and less populated areas.

Slowly, he walked up to the boy, kneeling down and placing a massive four-clawed hand on the boy's shoulder. "Naruto. It is time to go." A deep, growling voice commanded, removing his hand from the boy's shoulder as he rose. Though he understood the boy's pain and torment, they simply couldn't stay any longer. Someone of his infamy and reputation simply couldn't afford sentimentalism anymore. And what a reputation he had. He was one of the most feared warriors on the entire planet. A legendary swordsman that for nearly a whole human century had hunted and slain some of the worst villains this world had produced, becoming an infamous legend feared across the Elemental Nations.

He was a Sangheili warrior. A former Arbiter of the Covenant, and once an ally and vaunted friend of the old Uzumaki Clan, back when there was one. The Reaper, himself. Dekar 'Nythrus.

Dekar watched quietly as Naruto slowed his breathing, wiped his face a couple times, before slowly rising to his feet. He sniffled a few times, before taking deep breaths to calm down. He looked up to his mentor and protector, eyes red and puffy but cleared of tears.

"Do you have everything you need packed?"

Naruto nodded.

"And you have told no one of what we are doing?"

"Yes, sensei," Naruto nodded.

"Good. Then we will depart."

"What, now?"

"Of course. With the ANBU Squads changing their shifts at this time, it will give us a perfect opportunity to leave with minimal chance of discovery." Dekar answered, before starting to walk away, "Come, child. We are wasting time." Blunt and to the point like usual. That was how his mentor was. Dekar didn't waste time mincing words or droning on. That was apparently how the Sangheili were as a people. Naruto trotted off behind him, tightening the straps on his backpack as he came up behind the towering individual. He gave one last look at the tombstones, whispering a small 'Goodbye', before turning away and following his mentor. A few moments later, they both shushined away.

* * *

 _ **Later  
** **1811 PM  
** **Konoha Wall  
** **Eastern Wall**_

The sun was now setting on the Hidden Leaf, an orange haze in the skies as night began to approach. Naruto and Dekar were standing next to the massive Konoha Wall. The 100-foot structure had served in older times as the main line of defense for the village should it come under attack. During the war, it hadn't done well as a deterrent. Though it had been repaired for historical sakes, there were still parts of the wall that bore the scars of the war. Bullet holes, chunks that were blown out from explosions or jutsus dotted the wall's structure. Most of the holes or collapsed sections had been repaired, save for one small one that no one knew about. This one had been covered up by vegetation on the inside, and the forest covered the hole from outside, making it nearly impossible to spot. Dekar had only discovered it himself just last year, which meant that in all likelihood no one else knew of it either.

Their way out of the village was secure, and the forest would help cover their movement from any recon teams. The two stood in front of the hole. It was relatively 5 and a half feet in height and just wide enough for the Sangheili Warrior to fit through.

"Come. Let us move before night sets in." Dekar commanded.

"You don't want to move around in the dark?"

"Normally, I have no problem with it, but many predators hunt at night. Better we set up camp somewhere safe and wait until morning before moving again." So in other words, Dekar's concerned about Naruto, who wasn't used to moving around at night, getting lost and being attacked. He could understand that, even if it seemed a little overprotective.

"Take one last look at your home, child. It will be the last we see of it for some time."

 **(Resume Song 'Never Forget (Midnight Version)' at 02:10 mark.)**

Naruto turned back and took one last look at the village he called home, taking in all the features of the town. He eyed the Hokage Monument, the faces of each Hokage to have served the village carved into the side of the mountain. He thought of everyone inside the village that he cared about. Jiji, the Third Hokage. He hoped that Jiji would forgive him if he ever found out. The Yamanaka Family. Hopefully, Nozomi wouldn't be too mad if she found out what he was doing. Ayame and her father Teuchi, who worked the Ichiraku Ramen store and had always been kind to him growing up. Iruka-Sensei. Sakura.

"Ready?"

 **(02:45 mark in song.)**

With a deep breath, he turned around, nodding to his mentor, and for the first time in his life, set foot outside the village he had called home.

Dekar followed behind him, and the two made their way through the woods, careful to not make too much noise as they did. Naruto tried to take in the sight of these massive trees around him but didn't have the luxury to stop and admire when Dekar was pushing on ahead at a brisk pace, his long legs forcing Naruto to jog slightly just to keep up. They would not stop until night fell.

 **'Never Forget (Midnight Version) Song time: 03:22-03:30**

* * *

 **-Title Drop-**

 **Azores presents:**

 **HALO-NARUTO:  
** **THE FIRE WITHIN**

* * *

The pair continued to trek through the woods, looking to put at least a few miles between them and the Hidden Leaf before night completely fell. In the morning, they would shushin a good part of the distance to the Mifune River, which they would sail down to cover most of their journey and conserve their strength. When they reached the end of the tributary river Hanzo, they would travel the remaining distance by a combination of trekking and shushining. With any luck, their trek would take at most a week, at best some 4-5 days. Then, Dekar could spend the next two months to train Naruto uninterrupted.

And with any luck, some time away from this village would allow Naruto's fragile mind to begin healing and come to terms with the murder of his adoptive family. Only then could he truly become a warrior. This fragile state of Naruto's mind had been detrimental to his training over the years he had been mentoring him, and the Sangheili Warrior was at a loss at what to do with him. He was a swordsman, not a mind healer. The Yamanaka's have been helpful, but they cannot remove depression or trauma.

He wished the Kushina was still amongst the living. She could have helped him in ways only a mother could know how. The boy knew of her, it was the first thing he had told when they first met, but she had died when Naruto was barely over a year old. He knew the boy wishes he had the chance to know his mother.

Died... Murdered was a better word. 'Damn the Akatsuki.' His eyes narrowed in barely contained fury, but he quickly cooled his emotions. This was not the time to lose himself in the past.

The two had made good ground by the time night fell. If Dekar had to guess, they had made some 10 miles in the span of a couple of hours. He had forbad Naruto from using his datapad, as the device would give away his location if he had it on. With night here, he allowed himself to remove his hood, revealing his alien head for the world to see. Few had ever seen it and lived, but enough had for rumors to spread that he was, in fact, an alien. (To the humans, anyway.)

He turned to check on the boy again and noticed he had slowed some, looking down at a photo in his hands. A grim look was on his face. Dekar clicked his mandibles at this, knowing what the child was looking at. He stopped, turning to face the boy. Naruto must have noticed, because he stopped too, looking up to him expectingly.

"Do not ever forget why you are out here on this journey. Our purpose for leaving the village." The Sangheili said, his voice soft as he placed a finger on the picture Naruto was holding and tapped on it.

 **(04:08 mark in song.)**

Naruto nodded softly as he looked down at the picture. The picture was one of the few physical copies he had of his step-family. It was a picture of him and Riley, ages 7 and 6 respectively. Her shoulder-length brown hair, her caramel-colored eyes, and a soft smile adorning her face as she had her arms wrapped around Naruto in a bear hug while he was grinning like a fool. He smiled softly at the memory, giving the picture a small kiss before putting it away.

Looking back up at his mentor, he asked him, "So you've never told me where exactly we were going, sensei, even weeks back when you first told me we were leaving. Why?"

"Forgive me, but it was better to wait and make sure no one overheard, lest someone happened to be spying on us in the village." His mentor explained as the two continued through the woods.

"Okay... Fair, enough. So... where are we going?"

 **(Song ends.)**

Dekar looked up at the full moon that was slowly rising. It illuminated the forest around them in its glow, giving them enough light to see around them. They may be able to go a little further before making camp. But, yes, it was time to let Naruto know where they were going. With a soft snort escaping him, Dekar answered his young protegee and ward.

"We are going home, child. Our destination is the ancestral home of the Uzumaki. Uzushiogakure."

* * *

 ** _2119 PM  
_ _UNDISCLOSED D.I.S. LOCATION  
_ _COMMUNICATION SERVER_**

 _/...\_

 _/Standby...\_

 _/...\_

 _/Standby...\_

 _/...\_

 _/Connection Established!\_

 _D-1: 'Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for convening on such short notice.'_

 _D-7: "Delta-1. I'm going to go ahead and assume that this isn't a social call."_

 _D-1: 'I'm afraid not, Delta-7. You know what this is about. This news couldn't wait.'_

 _D-7: 'Not at all. I agree this couldn't wait._

 _D-11: 'Is the UEG making moves against us, again? We've dealt with ONI in the past, but those were at best mere nuisances.'_

 _D-1: 'No, Delta-11. I'm afraid it's much worse this time. Unidentified slipspace whispers have been detected in the following systems.'_

 _/Brandenburg System\_

 _/Umbara System\_

 _/Montagna D'argento System\_

 _/Gemini Beta System\_

 _/Yōsai System\_

 _D-1: 'Each system where the whispers were detected were investigated thoroughly by patrols, but nothing was found. Those of us whose systems are affected and myself have concluded the worst.'_

 _D-3: 'Dear God, don't tell me that after all these years, they're finally moving against us?!'_

 _D-18: 'We don't know for certain it's them. It could be more Kig-Yar pirates. They've tried this before.'_

 _D-3: 'Infiltrating 5 separate systems?! For what purpose?! They know how seriously we take our defenses! You know damn well it's not-'_

 _D-7: 'ENOUGH! It's not the Kig-Yar. We've already reached a unanimous conclusion. The Enclave are making their move. Rho 'Buratamee's planning to attack us.'_

 _D-10: 'Is there any idea as to when?'_

 _D-1: 'As of now, no. We're not convinced these are invasion fleets. The number of whispers detected in each system was never larger than six.'_

 _D-29: 'Infiltrators. A reconnaissance force to probe our defenses and see just how strong we are.'_

 _D-14: 'This is what we concluded. The affected systems have already informed the local governments and had them quietly raise the local military assets' alert status, just in case.'_

 _D-6: 'Do we know what exactly the Enclave are looking for in these systems?'_

 _D-7: 'What else do you think a bunch of religious fanatics who worship dead aliens is looking for?'_

 _D-1: 'Enough, 7. More than likely, 'Barutamee is looking for Forerunner artifacts. He's probably found a few luminaries that pointed him to these five planets in particular.'_

 _D-7: 'That's the part that's really been irking me. We've been pretty thorough in our searches of Forerunner Artifacts and Relics over the years, making sure we knew if any were on a particular planet or moon. Especially Yōsai, considering it's already... 'weird' status. And to my knowledge, there ain't any Forerunner Relics in the Yōsai or Umbara Systems.'_

 _D-1: 'Well, 'Barutamee seems to think otherwise, and regardless of whether or not there are any actual relics, we're going to make sure that he doesn't get whatever he's after. I'll be informing the President of what's happened and encourage her to begin raising the DEFCON level to 3. HIGHCOM will be quietly transferring Ships and assets to the systems at risk of attack. We know the enemy is coming this time, gentlemen. Let's make sure the Enclave get a warm welcome.'_

 _/Connection Terminated.\_

* * *

 **And that's it for this first chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it. Leave a review and let me know what you thought. See you next time!**

 **-Azores**


	2. Odyssey Arc: Part 2

**I don't own Halo or Naruto.**

 **Bold-My Own Words**

 **"Bold"-Demon Speaking**

 **'Bold'-Demon/Dark Thoughts**

 _ **Bold & Italic-Locations, Time & Calendar**_

Normal-Narrative

"Normal"-Person Speaking

'Normal'-Thoughts

 _"Italic"-Foreign Language_

 _'Italic'-Radio Chatter_

 _/Italic\\-AI/Computer typing_

 **Shinsei Seasons:**

 **Spring: April 25 - August 4**

 **Summer: August 5 - October 11**

 **Fall: October 12 -January 6**

 **Winter: January 7 - April 24**

 **Note: The mapping of the Elemental Nations in this Fic is based on 'Elemental Nations Political Map' by xShadowRebirthx on Deviantart. (There's a geography map version, too.)**

* * *

 **!WARNING!**

 **This story contains content not suited for younger readers, such as Violence, Blood and Gore, Language, and Explicit Sexual Content. This Chapter's Rating will be placed at M-Rated. Future Chapters may, and most likely will switch back and forth between the T and M ratings.**

 **Regardless, Reader Discretion for this Chapter is advised.**

* * *

 **-There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.**

 **Ronald Reagan**

 **-Politics is too serious a matter to be left to the Politicians.**

 **Charles de Gaulle**

 **-The worst feeling is not having done something when you had the chance.**

 **Unknown**

* * *

 **Arc 1**  
 **Episode 2**  
 **-River Ride/Old Wounds-**

 _ **0619 AM**_  
 _ **October 24, 2563**_  
 _ **United Dominion Territory**_  
 _ **Timur Island**_  
 _ **New Tripoli**_  
 _ **Griffin Heights**_  
 _ **Penthouse Suite (Top Floor; Floor 88)**_

He looked up at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts. He had only been awake for maybe five minutes, but he already felt like he'd been laying there for ages. He hated reminiscing, yet for some reason, he had been doing more of that over the past few years. Maybe after finally reaching 50, physically, he was just reflecting on everything he had done and on all the regrets and fuck ups he had, wondering if he could have fixed them or be forgiven for them.

'No... We both know some things can't be forgiven.'

He laid there for a few more moments, glancing over at the motionless figure sleeping next to him. Her breath was slow and steady. In complete bliss and without a care in the world. Good. At least one of them slept easily at night. He had too many secrets and demons for that.

Unlike him, she had today off and got to sleep in a little bit, until it was time to take kiddo to school. And her alarm was set accordingly, but since he was already up, he'd just take her himself. Reaching over to the alarm clock, he reset the time from 0730 AM all the way to 1000 AM. Let her sleep in a bit since it was her day off.

He then gently stroke her short black hair, now finally starting to grey as she approached her mid-40s, physically, swaying slightly as he stroke it. With a gentle kiss on the top of Rebecca's head, Leonard Joshua Michael Barnes got out of bed, throwing on some pajama pants to cover up before making his way to the bathroom. He glanced out the windows to the massive sprawling city below him that was New Tripoli. The largest city on the planet, with 7 million people from all sorts of backgrounds calling it home. In the distance, the massive New Tripoli Space Elevator, one of three on the planet, could be seen shooting up into the heavens, receiving and delivering cargo almost nonstop. After admiring the view for a little longer, he grabbed his datapad and walked up to the mirror in his bathroom to take a good look at himself.

While he was still a physically fit man, more than capable of fighting and killing if needed, it was obvious that the years had finally caught up to him. His old scars and injuries looked faded to him, many of which happened a lifetime ago, on a world far from here. He turned around slightly, showing a small swirling seal on the back of his neck, with four kanji symbols in the corners of the seal, and a massive tattoo on his upper back. A bald eagle, shrieking ferociously as it descended, claws spread out and ready to use. The tattoo had seen better days. It was faded now, with a burn injury covering the upper left part of the wing, and a trio of claw marks trailed down his back through the bottom part of the tattoo. Below the eagle's talons were six words:

 **~101st Airborne~**  
 **~Feet First Into Hell~**

Another memory from a life long gone. A life long before any of this. One he was certain now that he would never be able to return to.

With the penthouse of Griffin Heights basically covering the entire floor, every room in the house was pretty big. The kitchen was no exception. A bar wrapped around the 'actual' kitchen area, with glass and silverware being stored in the cabinets behind the bar counter. In the kitchen, there were two refrigerators, a freezer, and a large cooking station with an oven. Outside of it, there was a roundtable large enough to seat 10 and with a television built into the wall for watching.

Barnes, having finished up in the bathroom and put on some actual office attire, suit jacket and all, walked into the kitchen and grabbed himself a bottle of whiskey and a small glass. He winced slightly as he looked at the bottle, hesitating for a second before giving in to his temptation. Over the years, he had gotten better with his drinking habits, thanks largely to support from Rebecca and his friends, but he still wasn't able to let go entirely. Some nights, the memories of the past were simply too much for him to handle.

He did mentally applaud himself for pouring the glass only a quarter full. Hey, take your victories where you can get them.

Putting the bottle back up, he walked over to the refrigerator and made himself a small sandwich, then walked over into the living room with his small breakfast and took a seat in front of a small table with a computer set up on it. Switching it on, he quickly accesses the Dominion Intelligence Service Website, logging in his credentials before getting to work, eating as he worked. Normally, he didn't like to work at home, but when you were the Director of Dominion Intelligence for the Yōsai System, you got as much work done as you could now so you weren't having to do it later. Unofficially, of course, as the Director's identity was meant to be kept a secret, hence why he was only known as 'Delta-7' or 'D-7' within the DIS. Only the other 'Deltas' and the President of the Dominion knew his identity. He hadn't been keen on becoming a spook, but he wouldn't deny he had a knack for it, and since he was made Director back in 2556, the DIS had expanded quite a bit and turned into quite the intelligence gathering service, with his methods and efficiency being implemented with the other divisions throughout the systems of the Dominion, though with restrictions. No one within the Dominion was wanting another ONI being formed, and he wasn't interested in becoming another Margaret Parangosky.

Today's business, however, was a bit more personal to him. He tapped away on his datapad for a minute, then set it down and got to work as it began playing music. It wasn't loud enough to wake up the other inhabitants of his home.

 **(Play song 'Killing Me Softly' by Perry Como.)**

Entering the restricted parts of the DIS's databanks reserved for high-tier employees only, he began searching up an old case. One that had, officially, been closed for years, now, largely thanks to a lack of physical evidence linking the culprit and political pressuring. Fucking politicians never bother to come to help you when you need it but expect you to bend over backward for them when election season comes around. Assholes. But regardless, for him, he had continued looking into the case and trying to solve it.

He owes it to the family at least try to solve it. And he had been trying, despite all the handicaps and obstacles being thrown at him over the years. Ah, there it was. The Rossburg Family Murder.

* * *

 _/Case File: Rossburg Family Murder\_

 _/Date of Incident: October 22, 2559.\_  
 _/Location: Hidden Leaf Village (AKA Konohagakure), Fire Country\_  
 _/Crime Committed: Eight Accounts of Homicide, First-Degree, Including Murder of a Minor; Breaking and Entering; Attempted Murder of a Minor, First-Degree\_  
 _/STATUS: Investigation Dismissed/Discontinued\_  
 _/Incident Report:_

 _On October 22, 2559, at approx 2138 PM, an unknown individual (Believed to be Female, also believed to be either a currently serving or a former Shinobi due to evidence provided. See Additional Notes.) infiltrated the Rossburg Residence grounds, quietly dispatching all five of the Dominion Marine Guards (SGT. Jepsen, Poul; CPL. Evans, Isabella; CPL Mason, Aaron; CPL Nikov, Lazar; CPL Zhihao, Chen;) posted on guard duty to the Residency via Lacerations to the neck within approximately 15 minutes, and then proceeded to break into the house, and murder the entire Rossburg Family, save for one Uzumaki Naruto (Born 10/10/2551; Age at time of Incident: 8), the only survivor of the incident._

 _Evidence gathered at the crime scene suggests that Ambassador Harrison Rossburg (4/2/2516-10/22/2559; Age: 43; Ambassador to Konoha 5/17/2552-10/22/2559) was the first of the three murder, murdered in his sleep inside the bedroom of the Rossburg Couple. There appeared to be a minimal sign of struggle, further supporting that Harrison was killed in his sleep. The window within the couple's room displayed signs of tampering, indicating that this was where the intruder broke into the house._

 _HARRISON ROSSBURG-CAUSE OF DEATH: Decapitation. Forensics team concluded a 95% Probability laceration was caused by a Shinobi bladed weapon, likely a 'tanto,' but have not ruled out a Shinobi 'Jutsu'._

 _The second murder was of Harrison's wife, Juliana, (9/9/2519-10/22/2559; Age: 40) who was found sprawled on the floor of the kitchen, table knocked over beside her, with a kitchen knife sticking out of her chest. There appeared to have been a struggle, with a small cut being present on her neck implying someone was holding her at knifepoint. This indicates that either A) The intruder attempted to extract information from the murder victim before killing her, or B) Juliana attempted to fight back to protect her daughter from the killer._

 _JULIANA ROSSBURG-CAUSE OF DEATH: Laceration of both the Pulmonary Artery and Pulmonary Vein approximately 3 inches from the heart via a Kitchen Knife._

 _The third victim, Riley Rossburg (5/14/2552-10/22/2559; Age: 7), Juliana and Harrison's Daughter, was found alive at the scene of the crime by the Marine Embassy Guards along with one Uzumaki Naruto but expired while being transport to the hospital. The two were found in Riley's room, with Riley suffering from a laceration to the throat that had partially severed the jugular vein. Attempts were made to save, then resuscitate, but at 2240, Riley Rossburg was pronounced dead upon arrival to the Konoha Hospital._

 _RILEY ROSSBURG-CAUSE OF DEATH: Blood Loss from a partial laceration of the throat by a Shinobi 'kunai'._

 _The last victim of the murders is also the only one of the people involved to have survived the whole ordeal and is believed by the investigation team to have been the actual target of this murder. Uzumaki Naruto, the adopted son of the Rossburgs (Adopted 7/19/2557; Age at time of Adoption: 5), had arrived home late after spending time at the Yamanaka Residence, coming home at approximately 2202 PM. (Please note that due to the trauma the boy suffered from the entire ordeal, this information had to be extracted with help from the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Walk Technique.) When none of the guards came to the front gate to greet him, he was confused and went into the house via the front door to ask Juliana who he knew would still be up. This was when he stumbled upon her corpse at approximately 2205 PM. Horror entered the boy's mind, confused and terrified as to what was going as he ran over and attempted to 'wake up' Juliana (Who was deceased by this point.). Moments later, Naruto heard a scream coming upstairs from Riley's room and ran up to protect his sibling. The killer appeared to have been waiting for him to show up, holding Riley hostage by her hair. Naruto, scared for his sister's safety, boldly charged the killer, only for the intruder to kick him into the wall, then pinned him there by stabbing a katana sword through his abdomen. For the next couple of minutes, the killer torments Naruto and Riley, telling Naruto that he *REDACTED/INFORMATION RESTRICTED*, much to the shock, confusion, and horror of the boy. Approximately 1 minute before the Marines breach the room, the killer begins pressing the blade deeper into Naruto's abdomen, then holds a kunai up to Riley's throat, continuing to mock and torment Naruto as the intruder prepares to murder Riley in front of him, promising that he would be next. At this moment, the Marines breach the room, driving away the killer and rescuing the two children as several fires mysteriously broke out in the building. Naruto and Riley are both rushed to the hospital for their injuries, and while Naruto recovers physically within a week, the child suffered extreme psychological trauma and PTSD from the entire ordeal. Riley was pronounced dead on arrival to the hospital._

 _During the entire incident, a fire mysteriously broke out in Riley Rossburg's room and in several other locations within the house, forcing the Marines to vacate the house, grabbing the corpses of both Juliana and Harrison Rossburg as they evacuated. The fires took approximately 2 hours to put out, to which by then the house had largely burnt to the ground, leaving little in the way of evidence to pinpoint a potential suspect. (See 'Additional Notes') With a lack of concrete evidence and political pressure from both the Dominion Presidency (Who were in the middle of trying to maintain their office for the 11/10/2559 Presidential Election.) and from within the Hidden Leaf itself, (See 'Additional Notes') the Dominion's assistance on the ongoing investigation into the murder was ceased on 11/25/2559, being turned over fully to the Konoha investigative team, who promptly had the case dismissed/discontinued on 11/29/2559 due to a 'lack of incriminating evidence'.\_

 _/Additional Notes:_

 _1\. An autopsy of Riley Rossburg revealed that unlike Harrison Rossburg, whose laceration to the neck was largely clean and straight through, Riley's laceration was more haphazard and rushed. Marine AARs (After-Action-Reports) state that the Marines, after seeing the corpse of Juliana Rossburg and hearing a scream coming from the upstairs, immediately rushed up to the room and breached in rapid succession. This action likely caused the killer to panic and do a 'rushed job' laceration, as, within 3 seconds of entering the room (Via video-cam footage received from the Marines' Helmet Cams.), the Marines opened fire on the killer with continuous single shot rifle fire, hoping to stop the killer before they finished their goal. One SPC González, Claudia, swore in her AAR that she struck the killer in the lower torso as they attempted to flee out the room window, but disappeared from all the smoke generated in the room from both the gunfire and from a fire that was started in the room. (See Attached Notes) Video-cam footage from SPC González's Helmet Cam supports this claim, as the video shows the individual appears for one moment, then disappears a second later after a 7.62x51mm Round fired from SPC González's MA5C Rifle appears to go through the individual, indicating that said individual was nothing more than a shinobi clone of some sort._

 _2\. With the amount of evidence presented, the investigative team assembled had concluded with 93% certainty that the individual responsible for the murders was either A) An individual with Shinobi training or B) A Shinobi that is either currently serving within the Hidden Village or C) a retired Konoha Shinobi. SPC González's video-cam footage supports this theory with the indication that the killer cast a clone justu of some sort to swap out with the real intruder. The mysterious fires breaking out simultaneously in multiple rooms is another piece of evidence that supports the theory, indicating some kind of fire jutsu or perhaps a paper bomb of some sort. Lastly, the intruder killed all the other occupants of the house and outside rapidly, yet took their time with killing Naruto and Riley, and seemed to enjoy tormenting the both of them, particularly Naruto. This implies that Naruto was the target of this assassination._

 _The investigative team also has concluded with 85% certainty that the individual who committed the murders was likely female, likely between 20-40 years in age at the time. Evidence to support this is the general body type of the individual (Though the investigative team hasn't ruled out a henge disguise.), the nimble and limber nature of the individual (Human Females are much more flexible than their male counterparts.) when said individual was escaping, and lastly, the feminine vocal patterns, distorted slightly in a likely attempt to prevent identification, of the individual when they spoke. (This was gleaned from both Marine Helmet-Cam footage of the Marine Embassy Guards and of the probing of Naruto's mind by the Yamanaka's Mind Walk technique.)_

 _3\. It is unlikely that this assassination of an ambassador was the work of a foreign shinobi, such as the Hidden Sound Insurgents. While the murder of an ambassador, his entire family save for one, and five marines is a tragedy, there are far more valuable and worthwhile targets within the Hidden Leaf that could have been hit if they could have snuck in with such ease. The ambassador wasn't involved with any military projects or clandestine operations, and ambassadors can be replaced with relative ease. Prominent Konoha individuals like Lady Tsunade, Hatake Kakashi, or even Lord Hokage Sarutobi can't._

 _It is also believed that the murder was committed by either a current or former Konoha Shinobi, due to the amount of political pressure being sent by several influential members within both the Konoha's Civilian and Shinobi Council to end the investigation or turn it over the investigation entirely to Konoha's own assembled Investigative Team. When this was finally done on 11/25/2559 on orders from Prime Minister Graça Varejão, the Konoha Investigative Team ended their investigation just 4 days later, due to a 'lack of incriminating evidence.' This implies that someone or several people of significant influence within the two Konoha Councils either knew who was responsible or had active participation in the murders, then used their influence to have the investigation ended before any actual incriminating evidence could be found._

 _*NOTE FROM DELTA-7* In other words, somebody in Konoha either knew about this plot and said nothing or were fellow conspirators. And the fact that they got away with it, along with them traumatizing and trying to murder an 8-year-old boy, is what pisses me off the most. We're supposed to look after our people, and if we fail that, then at the very least we manage to give them justice by finding those responsible and make them answer for what they did. There's also one more piece of evidence we have on file but have lost the physical evidence for it._

 _For the past year before their death, both Harrison and Juliana Rossberg was attempting to have the necessary paperwork done to grant Naruto Uzumaki legal citizenship status within the United Dominion. Harrison was scheduled to step down as Ambassador in 2560, so it's only natural that he did this for his step-son that didn't have citizenship. However, every attempt to do so was muddled down and dragged out by Fire Country's Immigration Service (Or rather, Konoha's.), but they couldn't stonewall them forever. However, just as it seems that they were finally going to get the necessary paperwork finished and completed, the Rossbergs are suddenly murdered and when the investigative team go looking for the citizen application papers, all Konoha's Immigration Service could tell them was that the documents had 'gone missing', despite the DIS's best attempts to locate them._

 _Clearly, somebody in Konoha didn't want Naruto Uzumaki leaving the Hidden Leaf, and there's a multitude of reasons as to why this is. (SEE NOTE 4. WARNING! NOTE 4 HAS BEEN RESTRICTED TO TIER 1 OR HIGHER AGENTS AND DIRECTORS! YOU MUST HAVE PROPER CLEARANCE TO VIEW IT!)_

 _4.*WARNING! THE INFORMATION YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO ACCESS IS RESTRICTED TO TIER 1 OR HIGHER AGENTS AND DIRECTORS, ONLY!* *ACCESS GRANTED! DIRECTOR AUTHORIZATION IDENTIFIED!* Alright, so for those of you with this level of access, then that means you already know for a fact the Rossburg weren't the targets of this assassination. It's a load of shit, and anyone with half a brain can draw that conclusion. They were merely witnesses that couldn't be left alive. The real target of this attack was clear Uzumaki Naruto. Why? Because on October 10, 2551, the same day the poor kid was born, the fucking Nine-Tailed Fox attacks Konoha and damn near annihilates it off the face of Shensei. (See Records 'Uzumaki Kushina', 'The Kyuubi Attack on Konoha', and 'List of Known Jinchuuriki, Past and Present' for more details.) The only reason it didn't was that his father, the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, sealed that monster into a newborn baby. Give you three guesses as to who it was? To put it simply, Naruto Uzumaki is a Jinchuriki, not only a Jinchuriki but THE Jinchuriki of the most powerful and dangerous of the tailed beasts on this planet. And somehow, those fucking idiot villagers found out. Oh, sure the Hokage made it forbidden to talk about and all that shit, but that's about the equivalent of putting a bandaid on a severed leg. Just you make it forbidden to talk about doesn't make everyone forget about it, or get rid of that hate and resentment of knowing that the very monster who killed all your friends and loved ones is still alive and living in your home._

 _From what we've managed to gather, there seems to be a bit of conflicting interest regarding Naruto amongst these conspirators. My guess, and this is only a guess at the moment so take it with a grain of salt, is the one or ones who committed the murders likely wanted to kill Naruto. Why? Who knows? Maybe some of their friends or family were murdered by the Kyuubi, or perhaps they hated his parents. The other faction, primarily whoever were the ones trying to keep Naruto from gaining citizenship in the Dominion, were likely wanting to hold on to their Jinchuuriki as a weapon for their village. Otherwise, there was no other reason for them to try and deny Naruto citizenship to the Dominion, or at least another reason that was worth going through so much effort._

 _Usually, I would say to just stay out the affairs of Fire Country and the other independent Coalition Nations. I know we normally have a policy of letting them handle their own affairs and minding our own business provided it doesn't affect us in any way, but in this case, we simply can't. I'm not going into a long drawn out explanation as to why, so I'll try to keep it as brief and to the point as possible. We literally cannot afford Naruto Uzumaki dying under any circumstances. He is literally the only thing holding back an unstoppable force from rampaging across the planet once more. Preferably, I would like to have extradited him out of Fire Country and somewhere off-world, maybe to one of the more sparsely populated worlds where damage would be minimal should the Kyuubi actual break lose, but unfortunately, it's out of our hands for now. Kidnapping him will only cause a political shitstorm we can't have, especially if Konoha finds out it was us. The best we can do right now is monitor the situation inside Konoha and hope nobody tries something else. For the foreseeable future, there need to be a couple agents keeping watch over the boy in Konoha._

 _(NOTE: Yes, I am aware that we only have a little over a half dozen operatives inside the Hidden Leaf and diverting operatives away would put further strain on them, but it has to happen. God knows with the way the village abuses him, he's got to be a time bomb waiting to go off unless something changes. That's why I'm authorizing the reactivation of 'SHADOW WARRIOR; SQUAD 21' within Konoha. We need the best protection for him to prevent another catastrophe from happening, and they're the only SHADOW WARRIOR unit available in the area.)_

 _It goes without saying that if the Kyuubi were to be released, we would have no way of stopping it. We already tried once before, and we paid a heavy price for it. (See Record 'The Kyuubi Attack on Konoha' for more details.) (Also, no, I'm not throwing a 12-year old into an isolated containment cell, don't even bother trying to ask me. Again.) Signed, Delta-7, Yōsai System DIS Director.\_

 _/End Report\_

* * *

Barnes had always felt responsible for what had happened, though he knew deep down not all the blame could be put solely on him. However, the death of the Rossburgs was definitely his fault. He had been the one to suggest and encourage them to adopt Naruto, hoping to both A) keep an eye on a potential danger and B) try to make things up to Kushina, god rest her soul, for not doing more to help the kid. He and the Rossburg had gone back to before the Great War, but he had also met Naruto a couple times when he visited the Hidden Leaf.

The boy would try to hide it, but Barnes could tell the kid had had it rough.

He looked over the report, again and again, going over every little detail. So far, there hadn't been any new evidence acquired relating to the murder, itself, but there had been lots of further information gathered that seemed to give Barnes pause. All of it seemed to have some sort of connection to Naruto or his parents. Former businesses that were owned by the parents suddenly changing ownership with questionable methods or outright illegal ways. Money laundering. Bribes. Clear evidence of corruption and prejudice against the Namikaze Family, with two of the biggest offenders being the Hyuuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan before it was massacred. Every bit of new info and evidence gathered suggested that this murder wasn't the isolated incident that some people thought it was. The more and more evidence they managed to collect, the more and more this murder seemed more like a conspiracy. Maybe this report wasn't entirely accurate after all.

He snorted at this. The report on the murder was accurate to their knowledge, save for just one little detail. And that was-

"Mister Barnes?"

He was snapped out of his thoughts, quickly shutting down the DIS page as he turned around to come face to face with a sleepy 11-year-old girl. She was standing in front of him in her little blue horse pajamas, holding a teddy bear in one hand and using her other hand to rub her caramel eyes as she tried to keep them open. She had never been a morning person. Her Titian-colored hair was a mess, with a nasty case of bed head, and her mildly tanned skin had a couple of sleep marks on it. She had a small orange scarf she wore wrapped, more like tied, around her neck everywhere she went.

Barnes smiled at the little girl, "Morning, sleepy head. You're up awful early." He got a tired groan as a response, which made him chuckle.

"I hate Monday."

"Along with everyone else, kiddo." Barnes half-joked, getting up from the chair as he spoke, "Come on. I'll make you some breakfast, and then you can get ready for school."

Another groan, which got a laugh out of him. It looks like somebody forgot that Monday means back to school. He walked over into the kitchen and began making the girl a bowl of cereal and some pancakes, while he grabbed himself another sandwich.

"Where's Rebecca?"

"Still asleep. I'm gonna take you to school today and let her sleep in some."

"Okay." She answered as Barnes handed over her food, before popping into a seat next to her and flipping on the TV. He flipped it over to a cartoon channel he knew she liked, but she switched it over to the news, nibbling on her food quietly as she did so. He frowned at this. She had always been quiet and a bit of an introvert, not saying much. Course, he couldn't blame her for being that way.

 _'In today's press conference, Prime Minister Graça Varejão announced that the Yōsai Government has finalized the terraforming contracts with the Valkyrie Corporation, who would begin terraforming operations on the Custodes moons, starting with the moon C-25 which will eventually be named Ceter. C-25 had been listed as a viable terraforming operation by surveyors back in 2543, but a lack of resources and manpower placed terraforming operations on the backburner until the Dominion's situation could stabilize. While top surveyors and researchers have predicted a total completion time of between 60-100 years, largely due to Ceter having both a weak atmosphere and all of its water frozen up at the poles, Valkyrie Corps Officials are confident that their new line of next-generation Atmospheric Processors and genetically-modified Cyanobacteria-Farms, or Cyano-Farms, will cut the process down to about 30 years, with the air breathable in just 14 years. Ceter is to be the start of a series of terraforming operations to be conducted on some of Custodes' moons, with the end goal of having 7 of these moons terraformed or partially terraformed to support life by 2600. Another world that has been considered for terraforming is Yamaki, the second planet of our system. However, both Yōsai Government and Valkyrie Corps Officials have stated that at this time there are no plans in place for a terraforming operation on Yamaki. This is Jasmin Portier, SIN, signing out. Back to you, Richard.'_

 _'Thank you, Jasmin. In other news, with an increase of violence and the continued fighting in the Rice Country Capital Narakita and the surrounding countryside, Fire Country has increased its troop presence on the border of the former country, estimated now to have some 70,000 soldiers, plus shinobi, stationed near the border. This is a major increase from the 20,000 stationed at the border just two months prior. Fire Country's Ambassador Tanaka Hiramoro has stated this move was merely to ensure the safety of their national border and to ensure that the fighting doesn't spill over into their lands. The Ambassador went further to state that Fire Country and its 'Hidden Leaf' Shinobi Village was willing to assist the Dominion in hunting for Orochimaru and the Hidden Sound Insurgents. When asked by our correspondents, a Dominion Military Representative commented that as of now, no decision has been made on this offer, but the offer is still being considered by HIGHCOM.'_

He noticed her eyes narrowing at the mention of the Hidden Leaf Village. Maybe he should cut the news off.

 _'Speaking of Narakita, Dominion Military Officials have confirmed that the Insurgents have been forced back into a small pocket within the city's southern market sector, with all avenues of escape cut off. It isn't known with certainty just how many insurgents have been surrounded, but its believed to be somewhere around 2,000 combatants. Rice Occupational Force Commander, Major General Gale Conway, was confident that the battle would conclude-'_

"Okay, I think that's enough TV for you, sweetheart. Go get dressed and ready for school." Barnes told the little girl, who reluctantly got up and went back to her room.

He sat there, watching the news for a little longer as they talked about the stock market and something about a wanted kidnapper being caught. He grabbed his datapad and began playing around with it, looking to see if he's gotten any new mail or reports sent to him. Aside from a few weekly and monthly reports, which he could look at later, he went over to his photos instead. Two in particular.

The photo of his wife and two kids. Naomi, Haley, and Leonard Jr., or Michael as he was typically called.

And the one of the little girl. Susan.

The only two photos he had left of his old life.

He heard a knock on the door. He turned off the datapad, putting it away, then walked over and unlocked the door, allowing two Private Security Guards to enter. They both shook his hand and greeted him, with one of them speaking, "Sir, I have the car fueled and ready to go, we're just waiting for you and Morgan."

"Thank you, Arthur. Morgan's getting ready right now, reckon she'll be out in a second. Gabriel, how are we looking on traffic to the school?"

"Not too bad, sir." Gabriel answered, "Should take only about 15-20 minutes, depending on traffic."

Morgan came back a couple of minutes later in a little blue summer dress with grey leggings on underneath for the cool October morning and a small backpack on her back. Her orange scarf was still wrapped around her neck. One of the guards, Arthur, knelt with a smile and waved, "Morning, Morgan. Ready to go to school?"

"No."

That got a laugh out of the two guards, who slowly began filing out towards the elevator. Barnes started to follow them, but a gentle tug on his hand stopped him. He turned around back to Morgan, who was looking up at him intently.

"What's up? Something wrong?" He asked softly.

Morgan seemed to hesitate for a second as if she didn't want to say whatever it was on her mind. He had a suspicion as to what she was going to ask. After a couple of moments though, she finally spoke, "Barnes, will you..." she stopped for a moment, nervously fiddling with her backpack strips, then continued, "If you could find the time to, w-would you check on..." Barnes' gaze softened at the poor girl before him. Yeah, he knew exactly what she was going to ask. Now and then, she would make this 'request', and Barnes, being the soft-hearted fool he was, always did it for her. The kid had been through enough as it was, and it wasn't hurting anyone to indulge in her little request. It was the least he could do to make it up to her parents.

"When I get a chance today, I'll go see how your brother's doing and what all's been going on. And then, I'll let you know the moment I pick you up from school. Okay?" He offered, stroking her hair softly to help calm her. She let out a soft nod in reply, followed by a quiet "Thank you, Barnes."

"You're welcome, Riley."

With that, Leonard Barnes stood up, taking 'Morgan's' hand in his own as the two walked towards the elevator that would take them to the garage. Once he got her to school, he could get to work with all his other missions and projects, and then deal with his other 'problem child.' That is, if she hasn't already escaped the psychiatric ward... again.

Barnes sighed, 'And if I were a gambling man, I'd say she has-' As if she somehow had heard him, a big boom could be heard in the distance, followed by a big pink cloud of smoke rising up maybe five blocks away being seen through the window. Barnes could practically hear the cackling now, even if he knew that wasn't possible with the soundproof glass.

He sighed again, "Dammit, Alice." he muttered. Looks like he was going to get some unwanted running exercise.

Again.

* * *

 _ **0953 AM**_  
 _ **Fire Country**_  
 _ **Tributary River Hanzo**_  
 _ **Approx. 41 miles from Nakatari Town**_

 **(Play Song - 'Morning' from Naruto OST)**

He had never been on a boat ride before, even if theirs was a small little motor boat. Despite that and the bumpiness of the ride whenever they hit a swell, Naruto was having a blast riding on this boat. The river, despite being a tributary, was massive like the Mifune, being anywhere from 100 to over 300 meters wide in some places. And the scenery was so beautiful, too. With the craft going an average of 30 knots, even with the current going against them, they had made good time while traveling on the river over the past day and a half. At this rate, they would reach Nakatari Town, at the end of the Hanzo River, within a couple of hours. He was a little disappointed by this, hoping they could enjoy riding down the river a little more.

Oh well, enjoy the sights while he could.

Currently, he was wearing a new outfit, a black hoodless jacket with a green shirt underneath, and blue pants. He also had a small henge up to hide his whiskers, to keep any suspicion to a minimum. Sure there were many blonde-haired, blue-eyed people walking around in Fire Country, (Interestingly, there weren't many, outside the Yamanakas, within Konoha.) but how many people had whiskers on their face?

Still, keeping this henge up for so long over time was taxing, even for someone with such massive chakra reserves like him.

"You sure you don't want to take a break? You've been on that motor the whole time." Naruto asked, looking back at his fellow passenger, a tall, albeit slightly overweight brown-haired man who was currently piloting the boat. The boat pilot replied, "Thank you, but no. There is a small little cove about 10 miles down that we can use to stop and rest for a moment."

Naruto just shrugged, "Alright, sensei." he said, before turning back around to enjoy the feeling of the wind blowing in his hair.

The 'boat pilot' grunted as he observed the far bank, looking for anyone or anything suspicious. Even in a peaceful setting such as this, he always stayed on alert, as he had been trained to as a young warrior.

Dekar 'Nythrus wasn't a fan of surprises.

Due to the different hand structure of the Sangheili, Dekar was only capable of performing the most basic of jutsu, mostly those that require the minimal amount of handsigns like the henge or the shushin. But 90-something years of exposure to chakra had gifted him with other attributes to compensate and survive in this strange world. It seemed that chakra affects every sentient creature differently, and in the case of the former Arbiter, prolonged exposure had granted him enhanced strength, at least 10 times that of a typical Sangheili warrior, superior speed and reflexes on par with an upper A-Ranked Shinobi were another attribute he had been blessed with. Lastly, he had the ability to partially sense other chakra signatures. He's what's known as a 'Sensor-Type' amongst the Shinobi of the planet, though it was only limited to those with a certain level of chakra reserves and only within a kilometer at best. If it was raining or snowing, or if he was ill, the range reduced significantly, but more often than not he rarely ran into conditions where he could sense further out than 600 meters. Someone with small reserves, like a civilian or a young genin (Naruto was anything but ordinary.), or a medic, who typically have small reserves, could very well avoid his detection. But, a useful skill to have regardless. However, he still wasn't sure if this was the side effects for the Sangheili as a whole or if he was just a particularly special case. In his entire time on Shensei, there had been only three other Sangheili that had been trapped on this world with him to base his theory on, along with a Kig-Yar and a Mgalekgolo.

All of whom were long dead now...

Dekar quickly ceased his trip down unpleasant memories, looking back to his young ward. The boy had enjoyed the trip so far, which he was glad both at this and of being proven right in his suspicions. The boy always seemed to have a change of personality whenever he was around Dekar. Around him, Naruto seemed to be more confident in himself, more outspoken, and relaxed. Whenever he wasn't... Well, getting the boy out of the village, away from the hatred and contempt that surrounded him daily, had been the best thing for him after all. Though they had done minimal training in their traveling so far, it was to be expected. When they stop again, he would have the boy train a little, but right now, he was looking to put as much distance between them and the Hidden Leaf before they realized their Jinchuriki was gone. (Which they eventually would.) If they could get to Uzushiogakure, it's entirely possible that they could avoid any retrieval squads Konoha would send out. It would likely be one of the last places they would think to look. (He wouldn't hold any high hopes, but the possibility was there.) And even if they figured out where Naruto had gone, Uzushio Island was technically considered Dominion Territory, and Konoha had always been hesitant to send squads into their territory without explicit permission if they didn't believe they couldn't avoid detection, despite being allies. The Dominion had never been comfortable with the idea of super-powered humans near a highly populated center, and with Uzushio Island being so close to the Dominion's Planetary Capital...

At the very least, it could buy them valuable time. That all he needed. Just a little time to help the boy sort his mind and properly train him.

"Hey, Dekar."

He turned his attention back to the boy, "Yes?"

Naruto seemed a little hesitant about something but asked, "Do you... Do you think you could tell me another story about mom?"

The former Arbiter blinked, saying nothing at first. This had been going on a little more often than it had in the past. He supposed it was natural that a human boy who never knew his mother would want to know about her, but he couldn't help but wonder if there was something else to this.

"Another one? You do not typically ask for two in one day." Dekar stated.

"I-If you don't want to..."

A soft hiss escaped him. Yes, there was something else to this. Was he maybe doubting himself? Doubting the stories regarding his mother? Maybe his demons had convinced him that she never truly loved him, which he knew wasn't right. Dekar wasn't sure he had ever seen Kushina any happier than when her son came into her life, even with the death of her husband. But it was possible that whatever demons were tormenting the boy's mind had convinced him otherwise. That no one cared about him.

And none of that was true. Even if the rest of the world shuns him, as long as Dekar lived, that statement would never be true.

He entered a deep trance, thinking of a good memory to tell him about his mother. Then, one good one came to his head. Maybe not the best one to speak of, but perhaps one that would satisfy him for a while. He needed Naruto to be focused when they began training.

"Well, let us see..." He delayed, then after a few moments to gather his thoughts, he continued, "Well, there was the time I returned to Konoha and reunited with your mother following your father's death."

"Oh?"

The Sangheili paused for a moment as he reminisced, "It was a calm, tranquil day, barely a little more than a month after the Kyuubi had attacked. Konoha was still recovering from the attack, as many buildings were still nothing but ruin. The sun shone brightly, and the breeze was gently throughout the day..."

"This was during the war, right?"

Dekar nodded, "Yes, and I had just finished hunting down the last couple of Akatsuki members who had been responsible for that attack. I had not taken an active role in the war just yet. I had considered the Akatsuki a bigger threat. Plus, the Rice and Earth Country armies had been stopped far north of Konoha, and it was still uncertain if they would manage to reach Konoha, yet."

"It was... not easy, returning. I never was welcomed completely by the Hidden Leaf, even if I had never wronged it. It was merely my reputation alone that put them on edge. Plus... when it came to your mother... I had always seen my presence in her life as a liability. A danger to her own... I had always reasoned that she was safer from the Akatsuki if I was out hunting them down, continually trying to end their wretched organization, instead of staying by your mother's side and protecting them." Dekar looked off, a distant look in his eyes as he muttered, "In the end, I supposed I was right to stay away..."

Naruto was quiet as he processed this information. Dekar had always been reluctant to talk about his mother's death or the months leading up to it. Whenever he tried to ask him about it, his sensei would merely reply with either, "I failed to protect her." or "Now is not a good time."

 **'He killed her...'**

Naruto swallowed a lump in his throat as his eyes narrowed. No. The Akatsuki killed his mother. They must have. She had been a Jinchuuriki like him, so they must have of thought she still had the Kyuubi inside her. And when they realized she didn't have it...

...

...

Dekar must blame himself for her death. He couldn't protect her when she needed it. And he couldn't bring himself to come back for so long, only until after he learned Naruto was still alive.

 **'He's lying to you...'**

He shook his head. No. No, there had to be a reason behind it all. A good one.

"Child?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at his mentor, who was staring at him with a questioning look.

He muttered out a small "Sorry." before his mentor pointed to a small cove next to the river, trees all around it and three large boulders on the right side. "We'll take a small break, there. After we eat, you will then conduct some training. We will continue this story... later."

Naruto brightened up at this. Not only that but finally, they were going to do some training. And it wasn't going to be a rushed or short lesson, like back in the Hidden Leaf. Dekar could never give out a proper training session back in Konoha, due to the fear of someone discovering him there. He was a good teacher, a bit harsh and strict, but fair and very knowledgeable on both ninjutsu and hand-to-hand combat. However, their lessons were always short and things that typically would have taken a few days, like learning how to climb a tree or a new jutsu, were often taking up to a couple weeks to finished. Still, in spite of the limited time he would have to train, he had made significant progress.

"What are we gonna train on? Some new kind of water justu? Or Earth?" He already knew almost a half dozen for the Water Affinity, along with three and two jutsus for Earth and Fire, respectively. Dekar may not be able to perform them himself, but he had a photographic memory like no other and remembered many of the handsigns for many jutsus throughout his time on Shensei. "Oh! Or is it gonna be a sparing session?"

"You will be practicing walking on water."

That deflated him pretty quickly, "Eh? But... I already know how to do that."

"Knowing how to do something, and being proficient at it are two separate things." Dekar replied bluntly, "It will improve your chakra control the more you practice with it. And one of your biggest faults is-"

"Is my control." the boy groaned, "I know."

"Then that is what we will practice on." That ended the debate right then and there.

 _ **1103 AM**_

They pulled into the cove and grounded the boat on the shore of the small bay, right next to the boulders. Here the shallow water was nice and clear enough to see the bottom, which was maybe four feet deep on average. If Dekar had to guess, they were now perhaps 14-15 miles from Nakatari Town now. He could occasionally hear a boat going by, though usually, most boats didn't go far from their ports of origin when it came to rivers, lest it was a cargo boat, which were becoming exceedingly rare with the introduction of aircraft and motorized vehicles designed for the same purpose.

"So are we going to hunt something while we're here?"

"No," Dekar replied, dropping his henge and returning to his original form as he surveyed their surroundings. He honestly hated being in disguise like that. It always felt... weird being in a form not his own. Removing his hood revealed his faded brown skin and amber eyes scanning their site, "We still have decent provisions, but we will stock up once we reach Nakatari. It may very well be the last chance we get for some time, unless we find a port to leave from."

"We can hunt, too, if we need to. Alright well, I'm gonna go ahead and-" Naruto started making his way towards the water, but Dekar held out an arm and caught him. He looked up at the Sangheili confused, "What?"

"Strip first."

"Wait, what?!"

"Your clothes are not waterproof, and such heavy, baggy clothing will weigh you down if you happen to fall into the water." Dekar explained, "Also, you could bathe after you finish training. We will likely not get many more chances to do that, either."

Naruto wanted to protest, but the stern look from Dekar quickly told him that this wasn't up for debate. With a slump of his shoulders, he started removing his clothing and placing it inside the boat, pulling out a towel from one of the scrolls in his backpack. When he finally got down to his underwear, he turned back to Dekar and asked, "U-underwear, too?"

"I will leave that choice to you."

Naruto, thankful he was being allowed to keep some dignity, walked towards the edge of the water, awaiting his mentor's instructions.

"Channel the chakra to your feet as you normally would and walk out into the center of this cove." Dekar ordered, "I will tell you what to do after you reach it."

Naruto complied with his mentor, slowly walking out into the center of the small cove. He made sure that the chakra was evenly balanced out in the soles of his feet, lest he wanted to go either dropping into the water from too little chakra or go flying off it from too much. Thankfully, the water was calm, which made this easier to do.

"Okay, now what?"

"I want you to perform a water jutsu into the water around you. _Mizurappa_ and _Teppōdama_ should do just fine for our purposes."

"Shoot it into the water? Is this some kind of method to teach me control or something? Also, I thought Gunshot is more of a precision attack not an area of effect. Wouldn't that make horrible for churning water?"

"Yes, to all of your questions. The Gunshot Jutsu will be used to target objects I point out to stimulate you being in a battle over water." Dekar answered, "This body of water is easy for you to walk on because it is fairly level right now. You've had much practice in this regard, but you have always had trouble performing this when the surface is uneven or unsteady. Make no mistake, Naruto, there will be many times where you will find yourself forced to cross vast bodies of water and they will not always be calm like this is. So, by churning up the water and expelling chakra at the same time by performing jutsus..." The Sangheili let the sentence hang there for a moment, seeing if the boy would catch on.

He did. "Then my control will slowly get better because I'm getting used to doing jutsus on water and walking around on uneven water?"

Dekar nodded, earning a smile from the boy as he realized he understood what his mentor was trying to do. "So, Violent Water Wave and Gunshot?"

"Yes. They will more than enough for the purpose of this training. We will add Ice Darts into the mix, afterward."

Violent Water Wave and Gunshot were two of the stronger and more chakra taxing jutsus that Naruto knew, and they were only just C-Ranked. Who knew mid-tier jutsus could be so taxing? Still, they were both excellent for dealing with crowd control. Naruto figured he'd start with Gunshot first. Get a feel for it. "Any idea how many shots I should do for Gunshot?"

"You decide the first salvo. Then, I shall call them out."

"Okay..." Naruto said, more to himself as he tried to decide. Three. He'll start off with three. He started performing the handsigns for the jutsu, shouting, "Water Style! Gunshot!" Then kneads three balls of chakra in his mouth.

"Target the three trees to your right. The ones clustered together around that bush." Dekar commanded, nodding when Naruto pointed them out, "Yes, those. Shoot off a limb from each of those trees."

Naruto fired the three balls of water at each of the trees, knocking off a modestly sized branch from each one as the balls of chakra infused water slammed into their targets at high speed. The branches fell the ground with a crash. Naruto felt the chakra in his feet fluctuate a little, but he managed to stay above the water.

"Again. Target the two trees behind me and knock them down." Dekar ordered.

Naruto was a little hesitant, not wanting to hit his mentor by accident, but complied regardless. "Water Style! Gunshot Jutsu!" he shouted and fired two water balls at the trees at an incredible speed. These two trees were thinner than the ones from before, so the water balls managed to snap them in half with relative ease. But one of the trees, instead of falling off to the side as he planned, snapped to the front and began falling... on top of Dekar. "SENSEI-GAH!" He shouted, losing his concentration as he did so and fell into the four-foot-deep water. Despite falling into the water, he still managed to see what transpired.

There were very few times in his life where Naruto had actually seen the old Sangheili Warrior drawing his sword out. He always told him that in Sangheili society, a weapon is only drawn when blood is demanded, which meant that Dekar almost never drew his sword unless it was to fight or train. Training with swords and weapons was still... a problem for him, and the number of fights Naruto had seen Dekar in could be counted on one hand. So, needless to say, what he saw next amazed him. With but a second's glance at the falling tree, Dekar simultaneously drew a long katana out from under his rob, with a bright silver finish on the blade and a red-orange color mix on the handle, with several Kanjis on the handle. In a split-second, the Sangheili Swordsman spun around and sliced the descending tree in to, falling into a kneeling stance as the lower and upper halves of the tree harmlessly to the sides of him. With a snort, Dekar rose back up and calmly examined the blade, checking to make sure it wasn't damaged.

Naruto only knew a little about the two Katanas that Dekar carried, just that they were both supposedly blades made by the Uzumaki Clan before their demise. They both had the same color and design on them, but they had two different engravings on the blades. _Ten no ryū_ , Heavenly Dragon, which was supposedly his blade made by his mother, had a traditional Edo dragon engraved on both sides of the blade. _Bitoku no Kaze_ , Winds of Virtue, was his mother's blade and had a small engraving of a warrior wielding his katana as the winds seemed to dance around him. Uzumaki Swords were supposedly revered as the finest quality blades in the Elemental Nations, being nearly impossible to break or shatter and were capable of cutting into tough materials like solid rock or even titanium without the slightest chip in the blade, and this was without using their unique ability. Each Uzumaki swords had an Uzumaki seal placed on the blade that allowed the original owner to channel their chakra through the weapon, allowing them to use their elemental affinity through the sword to assist in combat. Dekar unfortunately, couldn't use that particular ability of the sword. Whether it was because he was the intended owner or because he wasn't an Uzumaki or human since it wasn't made to be used by a Sangheili, neither of the two could say for certain.

Dekar supposedly had another blade he owned, somewhere, but Naruto had never seen it, and it wasn't a katana or short sword, from what he could gather. Dekar refused to talk about it for some reason.

"Sensei, you okay?" He shouted as he trod water, his head clear above the water with his 4'11" height.

Sheathing the sword, the Sangheili turned back to the boy, "You lost concentration."

"Wha- I thought you were about to get hurt!" Naruto protested.

"That is not an excuse to lose focus. Things will happen, but you must maintain focus."

"You could have been killed."

"If I am unable to sense or avoid a tree falling on me, then I don't think I would have lasted this long," Dekar replied, almost nonchalantly, if Sangheili could even be nonchalant. Naruto merely grunted in annoyance at him, worried sick for nothing.

"Come back, and try again. But this time, I want you to mix your attacks between Gunshot and Ice Darts. Then, when I tell you to, you will launch a Violent Water Wave next to you. Try to stay on the surface." Dekar commanded. When Naruto managed to swim ashore, Dekar simply spoke, "Begin."

 _ **45 minutes later...**_

"I got it! I got it! NO, CRAP-" Naruto shouted as he went into the violently spurned up water, again, breathing heavily. With each time he performed Violent Water Wave, the jutsu would end up creating waves up to five feet high in the shallow water. Dekar hadn't been joking, this wasn't easy. And he was starting to get frustrated. And tired.

'Failure, as usual...'

He popped his head above the water once more, growling out as he smacked the water in frustration, "Dammit!"

"Language, boy. Vulgarity does not suit you." His mentor said calmly, now seated in an almost meditative posture on the bank. If he was being bothered by the waves splashing onto his lap, he didn't show it. He just sat there, calmly watching Naruto attempt to master walking on the rough mini-waves. With a sigh, Naruto began swimming/wading to shore once more. He chuckled grimly as he realized something.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, just... I just realized that if some big fish decides to try and eat me, I'm screwed on account that you can't swim."

"To my knowledge, any creatures large enough to devour a grown human, let alone a boy, have long since been hunted to extinction in this river. And even if there were any left, they wouldn't come near such shallow, clear water. I think you will be fine." Dekar replied.

"Yeah, but you still can't swim. And don't we have to go over an ocean to get to Uzushiogakure?" Naruto remarked as he got out of the water.

"You appear to be forgetting that I can water walk as well, child."

Naruto just stared at his mentor in annoyance, eyes narrowed before irritably commenting, "You still can't swim." and stomped towards the water once more.

"You are getting angered and impatient over nothing, Naruto. Calm yourself. Clear your mind and just practice. You will get better at this, but these things take time. If we could master any of our training within in an hour or a day, then there would be no challenges to overcome and grow from, leaving us stagnant and lacking true improvement."

Naruto narrowed his eyes in confusion, "I-I'm not sure I follow you, sensei."

"Growth of the mind is just as important, if not more important, than the growth of the body. Your mind is what allows you to develop new ideas and methods to overcome obstacles. Having all the strength and power in the world means nothing if you are as dim as a rock. Concentration and meditation will help you to calm yourself and focus on the task at hand." Dekar explained, barely moving from his spot as he spoke. "Try to concentrate on what you are attempting to do. Focus your mind solely on the task at hand.

Naruto, despite his frustration, nevertheless listened and tried to clear his mind. His closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to clear his mind. Slowly, he walked back to the center of the cove, trying to focus on merely staying above the water.

 **'You won't get it...'**

He did his best to block out the voices. Ignore them. Focus on the task.

 **'You're just going to fail again... You're nothing but a failure...'**

Calmly, he did the handsigns. "Water Style! Violent Water Wave Jutsu!"

 **'A freak like you will never succeed!'**

The jutsu slammed into the water once more, creating yet again a series of swells and waves that kicked up the calm waters of the cove. Naruto continued to focus, feeling himself being lifted up by one of the waves. He concentrated on the soles of his feet, feeling the chakra trying to keep his balance on the unsteady surface. There were a couple times where he was sure he was going to fall in, but somehow, through sheer perseverance and concentration, he managed not to sink in. And the next thing he knew, he wasn't being thrown about anymore. He was standing motionless on top of the water as the waves ceased. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw that he had been moved further out of the cove and onto the open river by some 40 feet, but he had done it.

He had managed to stay above the water.

"Yes!" He cheered, finally having done it. Granted, he didn't have it 'mastered,' but the fact he had managed to do it was a big first step. He looked back to his mentor, who nodded in approval. "Good."

"You see that? I nailed it like a pro!" Naruto celebrated. In his mind, he spoke, 'Screw you! You see that? I did that! I can do it!' The voice in his head was silent at his remarks, which only bolstered his confidence. "Better start watching yourself, sensei! Soon enough, I'll be surpassing you!" He gloated. Dekar merely snorted in amusement. Maybe his success was getting to his head a little too much.

"Yes. Well done, mister 'pro.' You may want to return back here, though."

"Why's that?"

"Oops. Too late." His mentor... teased? Was he teasing just then? His rarely uses humor, at least when Naruto realized he was being humorous. Why was he- That's when he heard it.

Turning around, he saw a boat passing by them in the river. A family going on a river cruise. He could see two girls in the boat, both with tanned skin, black hair, blue eyes, and about his age if not a year older. They were both laughing and blushing lightly as they pointed and waved at him, while the older woman, likely their mother, was blushing and trying to cover up her daughters' eyes. And the man piloting the boat, who he could only assume was their father, was glaring at him and shaking his head.

They couldn't see his mentor behind the boulders, but they could definitely see him. And the fact that he was in nothing but his underwear.

Naruto could only stand there, gawking at this crazy circumstance, his facing heating up rapidly with embarrassment as he tried to cover himself. His mind was a jumbled mess, mortified at the fact that he had was pretty much mooning an entire family. He needed to get his clothes back on! He needed to-

"AH!" Was all Naruto managed to yelp out as he lost concentration and dropped into the water, rapidly surfacing and coughing up the river water he accidentally swallowed, gagging at the nasty taste in his mouth. He could hear the girls still laughing as their boat sped off, along with something he wasn't used to hearing. Dekar laughing. "Well done, 'mister pro!' No doubt you will surpass me in no time!" He heard his mentor comment, laughing after he spoke.

He only had one thing to say to that as he slowly, and shamefully, swam back to shore, "UP YOURS!" It only made his mentor laugh even harder.

* * *

 **And that's it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought in the reviews, and I'll see you next time.**

 **-Azores**


	3. Odyssey Arc: Part 3

**Hey guys. Just wanted to say real quick, thank you for all the feedback so far. It's greatly appreciated and I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Now, on to the chapter.**

* * *

 **I don't own Halo or Naruto.**

 **Bold-My Own Words**

 **"Bold"-Demon Speaking**

 **'Bold'-Demon/Dark Thoughts**

 _ **Bold & Italic-Locations, Time & Calendar**_

Normal-Narrative

"Normal"-Person Speaking

'Normal'-Thoughts

 _"Italic"-Foreign Language_

 _'Italic'-Radio Chatter_

 _/Italic\\-AI/Computer typing_

 **Shinsei Seasons:**

 **Spring: April 25 - August 4**

 **Summer: August 5 - October 11**

 **Fall: October 12 -January 6**

 **Winter: January 7 - April 24**

 **Note: The mapping of the Elemental Nations in this Fic is based on 'Elemental Nations Political Map' by xShadowRebirthx on Deviantart. (There's a geography map version, too.)**

* * *

 **!WARNING!**

 **This story contains content not suited for younger readers, such as Violence, Blood and Gore, Language, and Explicit Sexual Content. This Chapter's Rating will be placed at M-Rated. Future Chapters may, and most likely will switch back and forth between the T and M ratings.**

 **Regardless, Reader Discretion for this Chapter is advised.**

* * *

 **-What we fear of doing most is usually what we most need to do.**

 **Ralph Waldo Emerson**

 **-Human beings, we have dark sides; we have dark issues in our lives. To progress anywhere in life, you have to face your demons.**

 **John Noble**

 **-The fears we don't face become our limits.**

 **Robin Sharma**

* * *

 **Arc 1  
** **Episode 3  
** **-Baptism by Fire-**

 _ **October 23, 2563  
**_ _ **Fire Country  
**_ _ **Konoha  
**_ _ **Undisclosed Location**_

"Report."

"Yes, my lord. We have confirmed our report. The Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki is no longer within Konoha's Walls. One of our Agents out in the field has reported spotting him traveling down the Mifune River with an unknown individual, a brown-haired slightly obese individual, by boat. He is continuing to track them to determine where they're going."

"It looks like he's finally made his move... But to what end, I wonder? Hiruzen was a fool to believe the Jinchuuriki would stay loyal to this village. The only question is, where are they going?"

"With their current direction of travel, they could end up in either the Capital down the river or Nakatari Town at the end of the Hanzo Tributary by tomorrow."

"... Deploy two squads to each location. Your orders are clear: Eliminate this 'individual' with extreme prejudice and capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki at all cost. We must seize him before our fool of a Hokage realizes he's gone."

"Understood."

"At last, we can finally turn him into Konoha's ultimate weapon he was always supposed to be. Go, Agent. Failure is not an option."

"Yes, Danzo-sama. It will be done."

* * *

 _ **1427 PM  
**_ _ **October 24, 2563  
**_ _ **Fire Country  
**_ _ **Approx. 135 miles West-SouthWest from Konoha  
**_ _ **Nakatari Town  
**_ _ **Docks**_

 **(Play Song 'No Home' - From Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie OST)**

They pulled into the docks slowly, Dekar in his henge once more, while Naruto was standing ready at the bow with the rope to tie their boat to the pier. After doing this, the two grabbed their gear and stepped onto the dock. Naruto took in the sights all around him with looks only those of a sheltered child could give. Nakatari Town was much smaller than Konoha, with maybe four or five thousand people living here, it was still a pleasant little town. The houses and stores were all lined up neatly alongside the cobblestone roads, with a blend of both Edo and Terran Architecture, though the houses favor the more traditional Edo designs more. Dozens of people could be seen walking down the streets or shopping at the various stores.

And the craziest thing about it all, to him anyway, was that no one was batting him an eye. Nobody glared at him or called him names like 'Demon.' One guy actually bumped into him and said 'excuse me.' It was amazing! He might as well be just another kid here!

 **'Until they find out what you are...'**

'Tch. Yeah, fat chance of that happening.' Naruto thought, with a bit of confidence. He had noticed that ever since he had left the village, he had been feeling a little more confident in himself, and his anxieties hadn't been as bad. When Naruto thought about it, he always seemed to be more confident and less anxious whenever he was with his mentor. Maybe Dekar was right. Perhaps this was precisely what he had needed. Just some time away from the Village to clear his head and get himself sorted out, then come back and show everyone they were wrong about him. Prove to everyone just what he was capable of.

 **'Or get yourself executed for desertion...'**

Naruto shook his head. 'No. That's not going to happen. Jiji will understand why I'm doing this... Right?'

 **'Are you sure?'**

"Come, son. Let us grab our provisions from here and be on our way." Dekar, still in disguise, spoke to him.

Naruto couldn't help but arch an eyebrow at Dekar calling him 'son.' He knew why he was doing it, but it still just seemed weird and rather ironic when he knew that in Sangheili Society, they were forbidden to learn of their father or son's identity. The reason for was pretty interesting and clever, in a way. The forbidding of learning of your father's identity was so that each Sangheili Male could rise through society on his own merits and talent rather than through the influence or merits of their father. That rule didn't seem to apply to Sangheili Women, though he hasn't had a chance to ask why yet.

It was smart in a way, but he hated the idea of not being able to know who your father was. Plus, if he ever had a family of his own and had a son, he'd definitely want his son to know who he is. Well, if he ever has a family of his own...

"Sure thing 'father,'" Naruto replied, suppressing a snicker at Dekar flinched slightly, appearing to be uncomfortable at being called that. Naruto followed his mentor up to the dockmaster's building, where they inquired about where they could find a wagon to store it on since they didn't have any sparer sealing scrolls left to store it in. They had several sealing scrolls only partially filled, but each one had particular supplies in it, such as clothing, equipment or food, none of which had enough space left to store a ten-foot boat.

"Well, can't say many places even sell wagons, anymore. Horses now, those aren't the problem. Still plenty of them around. Problem is everybody's using those damn Terran cars and trucks to move their goods around nowadays." The dockmaster, a portly fellow with a thick beard and a receding hairline, answered, scratching his beard as he thought, "Could you make do with a car or horse, sir? Or do you know how to drive one?"

"I'm afraid I can't. We come from a tiny village in the northern part of the country, where there aren't many vehicles. I never learned to drive one myself. And my horseback riding is no better." Dekar answered smoothly. While he could drive a multitude of Covenant vehicles with ease, he wasn't familiar with human vehicles and had never dared to try learning. And he had no intention of trying to put his massive frame on a Shinsei horse. Dekar already knew how that would play out.

The dockmaster shook his head, " I'm 'fraid I don't know what to tell you, friend. You might want to talk to the Tozawa Family. They have a repair and surplus store about two blocks down from here on the left that might be able to help you. They may have a few old wagons for sale. You can't miss it; it'll be the biggest building on the street corner. You're lucky 'cause they just came back from a family trip on the river a couple of hours ago, so you should be able to catch them just as their opening up."

"Thank you very much, sir," Dekar replied, holding a hand out to shake. The dockmaster took the hand and shook it, "Sorry I couldn't be much more help."

"Nonsense, you were very helpful. Thank you, again." With that, the pair made their way down off the docks and onto the market streets.

The sides of the roads were lined with all kinds of all sorts of stores from food stands and restaurants to home appliance and electronics stores. Almost every type of store you could think of could be seen here as they walked down the street. Naruto quickly took something out of his hoodie's cargo pocket and started taking photos.

Dekar glanced and noticed the device in Naruto's hands, suddenly alarmed, "What are you doing with that?!" he asked, keeping his voice low to avoid unwanted attention.

Naruto looked back to him with the datapad in his hands, "Huh?" He glanced at his datapad, "Oh, no. It's okay! It's-"

"I told you to keep that device off or better yet leave it back in your apartment." Dekar interrupted, agitated. The boy had disobeyed him in turning that device on or even having it on him.

"No! It's fine! Look." Naruto tried to explain, holding the datapad's screen up to the disguised Sangheili to show him. "It's on Offline mode, and I have all the apps with location trackers off. It'll be okay to use."

"You don't know that for certain! Kono-" Dekar paused, lowering his voice to a hush, "Konoha could very well be tracking your location with that machine."

"Which is why I have the location shut off."

"They could have hacked it without you knowing, Naruto. I am not familiar with how far along Konoha has progressed with their 'cyber' capabilities, but I am certain that you would be something they would want to keep an eye on. They could have hacked it and be tracking us the moment you turned it on, regardless of what you have 'on' or not." Dekar scolded him, infuriated that Naruto had disobeyed him on such an important thing. He honestly had no idea just how capable Konoha or Fire Country was regarding their cyber warfare and electronic department, but he was reasonably sure that thanks to the war, the Dominion probably had helped them quite a bit in that area amongst others which meant that it wouldn't be too farfetched to consider the idea that they would use whatever electronic surveillance to keep an eye on Naruto. That was the reason he always had Naruto meet him in the woods near the training grounds because he knew that Konoha didn't have any surveillance equipment out there to spy on Naruto or anyone else.

But now, Naruto may have exposed them unintentionally. They could very well have a bunch of Konoha Squads coming after them.

"I... I just wanted to-" Naruto tried to defend his reasons, but Dekar cut him off.

"Turn the device off, now," Dekar ordered. Reluctantly, Naruto turned the datapad off. The Sangheili Warrior then held out a hand, "Give."

"Wha- but-" Naruto protested. The datapad had been a Christmas gift from Juliana and Harrison. It was one of the few possessions he had left from his time with them. It had all the photos of them he still had, besides the one in his sister in his wallet. He didn't want to lose it.

"Give. Now. I will not repeat myself." Dekar commanded, his voice leaving no room for protest or argument. Scowling, Naruto shoved the device into Dekar's hand, who removed the battery. He had half a mind to discard of the device or destroy it, but decided against it. There were a lot of precious photos and memories Naruto had stored on there that would be lost if he did that, so he hid it in his garments, instead. Noticing the boy was still glaring at him, arms crossed, Dekar glared back.

"Don't give me that look, boy. I gave you an order and expected you to follow it. You disobeyed me, and now you are suffering the consequences of your actions. When I tell you to do something, more often than not, it is for a good reason. There is a reason I have lived to 179 years." He paused, for a moment, hopefully giving Naruto a chance to let those words sink in before continuing, "We are about to embark on the most dangerous part of our journey to our destination, so in the future when I tell you to do something, I expect you to listen. Understood?"

Naruto said nothing at first, still mopping as he turned away slightly. Dekar grew irritated at this childish behavior, grabbing the boy's arm to make Naruto face him and repeated himself, "Am I understood?!"

"Yes!" Naruto snapped, "Sensei."

Dekar grunted but said nothing else as the two continued down the sidewalk towards their current destination. Dekar could see the building further down. Tozawa Supply and Surplus. Yes, that was it. The two walked towards the store in silence. The disguised Sangheili gave a glance to the boy, who wasn't looking at him. He was still upset. But Naruto needed to understand the gravity of his situation. He has taken an enormous gamble and risk by convincing Naruto to leave the village. One that could very well place him in trouble with the village council and have him accused of desertion and treason, even if he wasn't an official shinobi yet. Not only that, but they were bound to come across the more criminal elements that plagued the countryside. Even Fire Country had its fair share of bandits to deal with, and with the introduction of Terran firearms, they've only been made more dangerous. (Though not everyone used them. Bows and swords had some advantages over firearms when it came to highway banditry.)

Naruto needed to understand that this wasn't some vacation, this was a serious journey meant to help train him into becoming a proper warrior. He will likely be required to kill someone at some point on this journey.

A part of Dekar was hoping it wouldn't come to that, feeling that with the boy's mind being so... fragile, he might not be capable of doing it and end up getting hurt or worse, or worse still, he may end up indulging himself with harming and killing others, enjoying the fear he would put into others that he had long had to endure. But another part of the former Arbiter was hoping it would come to him fighting another person. Maybe it would be the thing that made Naruto understand the gravity of his situation and the realities of the life of a Shinobi. It wasn't the noble, romanticize life it was often made out to be by the Academies. Out here, Shinobi are expected to fight, torture, steal, kill, and die for their nation. And once Naruto graduated from the Academy, he would be expected to do the same.

Dekar knew that he couldn't always be there to protect the boy. One day, Naruto will find himself without his protector to defend him. He needed to become this warrior and the sooner he did, the better for both Naruto and Dekar's paranoia. He had already failed in protecting one Uzumaki. He couldn't do it again.

Sangheili Honor would not accept another failure of such magnitude.

"Here we are," Naruto said lowly, snapping the warrior out of his thoughts. They were standing in front of the building, which towered over the surrounding buildings at four stories. They could only see so much from the small window on the door, but the interior looked massive, more like a warehouse than a store.

They opened the door, and were greeted by two feminine voices simultaneously, "Welcome to the Tozawa Supply-" but they stopped when they eyed who they were greeting. Naruto's expression change to one of horror.

It was the same two girls from the boat, now dressed up in matching blue kimonos. As if these twins weren't hard enough to tell apart. And they were very same twins that had seen Naruto in nothing but his underwear, along with their parents.

Naruto could only gap at this horrible stroke of luck. With the way these two were looking at him, there was no way they didn't recognize him. He felt his face heating up in embarrassment as he recalled that scene in his head. He wished he was somewhere else right now.

"U-um-"

"You're that boy who was naked on the riverside." The girl on the left commented, which only made the poor boy blush even harder.

"I-I... N-No, it wasn't-"

"Yeah, the cute one standing on top of the water doing all that fancy running around. He was pretty muscular, too." The girl on the right followed up, then both of them looked at one another and started giggling as they remembered the event, casting an eye occasionally at Naruto as they pictured him in his underwear.

Naruto had his head in his hands at this point, his face beet red. He so wanted to be somewhere else right now.

"H-H-Hey Dek- erm. Father. I-I'm just gonna go wait o-outside and let you handle-" Naruto said as he started to try and retreat outside, but Dekar quickly snaked an arm around his midsection and pulled him back.

"W-Wait a minute! Come on, man, don't make me endure this!"

"You'll survive, I promise. Come on." Dekar bluntly said as he dragged Naruto into the store with ease, despite his protesting and resisting. Behind the two, the twin girls merely kept giggling and glancing at Naruto as they followed behind him, glancing at the boy.

The two stood before the store manager who also happened to be the twins' father. The one who had been piloting the boat. Both he and their mother weren't too thrilled about seeing the 'streaker' in their store. But, much to Naruto's gratitude, Dekar took responsibility and explained to him how it had been his fault, being as he ordered Naruto, or 'Natsu' as Dekar had addressed him, to strip in the first. They used the cover story that they were a father/son duo traveling from the north across the country, training 'Natsu' in hopes that he can qualify for Konoha's Genin Exams next April to become a Shinobi.

This had all but enthralled the two girls, who now wouldn't leave Naruto alone and clung to him as they asked him all sorts of questions. Apparently, this was the first time they had come across a Shinobi of any kind, though Dekar suspected that it wasn't just that the two young females were interested in, either. The three of them were at that age where they started going through what humans called 'puberty,' some transition they go through as they become adults and become intrigued with the human body, particularly those of the opposite sex. The twins, their names Fusa and Senu if he heard correctly, clung to Naruto a little too closely, blushing lightly as they did, leaving the boy a flustered and stuttering mess. Naruto wasn't used to females talking to him like this, especially ones around his age, but Dekar wasn't going to stop it, either. Such positive interactions with other children would be good for him in the long run. And eventually, Naruto would need to restore the Uzumaki Clan, so gaining some experience in courting females would be good for him as well.

Meanwhile, Dekar questioned the store owner about acquiring a wagon and a horse. The owner, Harumasa, stated that he did have a couple of old carts, but they weren't in the greatest condition. That didn't matter to Dekar. If long as they had all their wheels and could get them and their boat to the coast without breaking down, then that's all that he needed.

"Can either of the wagons hold a boat?"

The manager thought about it, then shook his head, "I doubt it. Both their floorboards are rotten and are starting to fall apart. The main bodies aren't much better, I'm afraid. I was honestly planning on just scrapping them next week."

"Hm, unfortunate, but understandable," Dekar replied, thanking the man for his and purchasing a few camping utilities while he was there. Sealing these items away in one of their scrolls, he then turned around to speak to Naruto.

Only to see that he and the two girls were gone.

For a moment, Dekar panicked, fearing that something had happened, but he quickly calmed himself. In all likelihood, the females had taken Naruto somewhere a little more secluded. He grunted in annoyance, cursing human 'puberty' in particular. Sometimes, he felt that humans were a little too obsessed with sex and their bodies.

"Natsu, where are you?" He called out, taking care to use Naruto's alias as he patrolled the aisles looking for him. This was getting agitating. While he had chosen not to interfere with the boy's interaction, they needed to leave.

"Natsu!"

He heard a soft giggle come from... somewhere. He couldn't pinpoint its source. Looking around, he stayed quiet in hopes of hearing it again.

He heard another giggle, coming from his right. Followed by the sound of someone else stuttering and hesitating. He walked briskly, zeroing in on the sound which led him to a far aisle with an 'Electronics' Sign hanging above it. Rounding the corner, Dekar found Naruto, with the two girls wrapped around his arms, looking at cameras and taking a few photos. Dekar was about to tell him to put it back but reconsidered. Konoha couldn't possibly track a small camera like that, so if Naruto wanted to use that to take photos, then Dekar wouldn't say anything. The twin females were still flirting with the boy, who still had a small bit of flush on his cheeks as the girls clung tightly to his arms. He noted that the boy also had a couple of other things he had grabbed, such as a notebook and some pens to write.

"Natsu."

Naruto turned and faced his mentor. Fusa and Senu, upon hearing his voice, turned and stopped what they were doing, much to their embarrassment and... disappointment? Why were they so intimate and flirtatious with a boy they had just met? Such behavior wasn't usual for children that age, and it was starting to concern him. Were they what humans referred to as 'promiscuous?'

Anyway, it didn't matter, "Come on. It's time to go."

Both the girls went 'aww,' but Dekar made no remarks about it. Naruto merely freed himself of the two girls and began to follow his mentor to the back of the store. One of the girls asked Naruto if he was going to be coming back through, but Dekar tuned the conversation out as they made their way back to the register. Naruto was quick to pay for his items before the pair departed.

 _ **1651 PM  
**_ _ **11 miles West of Nakatari Town**_

Though he had hated to do so, Dekar had ultimately sold the boat, as carrying it over 50 miles of land was just impractical. The two would just have to travel by foot for the rest of the journey until they reached the coast.

The two continued their trek down the small dirt road, with Dekar having abandoned his henge now that they were in the countryside. The route he had chosen out for them would not only get them to the coast relatively fast, in maybe another day, but it also would avoid some of the larger villages and settlements in the area, allowing them some privacy in their travel.

"So how long do you think it'll take since we have to walk, Sensei?" Naruto inquired, taking in the sites and sounds all around him. The forest was large and thick with foliage, with the various kinds of trees towering over them. He could hear all sorts of birds, insects, amphibians, even an occasional elk calling out from the woods around them.

"Provided we do not run into anything that would delay us and giving ourselves 7 hours to rest, we should reach the coast by the end of tomorrow. Then, when morning comes, we will travel the sea and reach our destination." Dekar answered.

"And then you train me for the next two months."

"Correct."

Naruto pondered it for a moment, before speaking, "There's just one question I still have. Why do we have to go all the way to Uzushiogakure to train me? Don't get me wrong, I think it's awesome I'm going to get to see my ancestral home and all, but I kinda feel like we could have saved ourselves a couple of days and just found somewhere isolated in the countryside to train me."

"While you're not wrong, there are several reasons as to why we are going to Uzushiogakure to train." Dekar explained, "The first reason is isolation. No one lives on the island and the only people who even visit the city itself are what the Dominion call..." He paused for a second as he tried to remember the word and how to pronounce it, "Archeologists. And they are very few in number. We will not have to worry as much about being discovered on the island."

"The second reason is time. While yes, I could have just moved you somewhere into the countryside of Fire Country, the problem we would face is that we would have to be constantly moving around to avoid detection by any Konoha Shinobi prowling about. If this training trip were lasting a couple of years rather than a couple of months, it would not be a problem. But unfortunately, I only have a two-month time-table to train you and make up for four years of limited training. We cannot be wasting precious days traveling from one location to the next."

"Lastly, while Uzushiogakure has been plundered and desecrated by numerous bandits and thieves over the years, it has not given up all its secrets yet. Books of knowledge, scrolls on Ninjutsu and Fūinjutsu arts, and others. Vast amounts of knowledge are still hidden away in secret vaults, which would be very useful to your training."

"Scrolls? You think there's still some scrolls inside the city?" Naruto asked doubtfully. Surely those would have been picked clean, right?

"I am certain." Dekar nodded, "The Uzumaki Clan were masters of both Fūinjutsu and hiding, especially items they didn't want being stolen or known. I would not be surprised if there were a few hidden rooms of scrolls and knowledge that even I wasn't made aware of."

"...Huh." Was all Naruto said as he pondered the possibilities. If the Uzumaki Clan were truly as good at Fūinjutsu as claimed and there were hidden rooms still housing ninja scrolls, then it's quite possible he could-

"Boy, stop." Dekar suddenly commanded in a low tone.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden command, looking over to his mentor in confusion. "What's wr-"

"Quiet." Dekar softly said, "Listen."

His mentor was entirely still, the only sign of movement being the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and the hood over his head slowly moving back and forth as he scanned his surrounding. Naruto was starting to get a little concern. Was something wrong? Was somebody-

"MOVE!" Dekar suddenly shoved Naruto away as a fiery explosion threw the two into the air, slamming Naruto into a tree and the Sangheili Warrior into the brush. Naruto, his vision swirling and confused as to what just happened, slowly tried to get up. A sudden hand gripped the back of his neck and forced him back down, bringing him back to his senses as Naruto struggled to try and free himself.

"GET OFF ME!" He shouted as he tried to turn and face his attacker. He twisted his body around and managed to slam a foot into what he thought was the person's stomach, but the person retaliated by slamming his face into the tree, busting his nose and disorienting him.

"Enough. Place the seal and let's go." Naruto heard someone command. He could faintly hear the sounds of battle nearby. The person gripping his head twisted him around, and Naruto came face to face with a white mask, looking like an animal. He started hyperventilating and panicking. The rational part of his mind told him ANBU, but the rational part wasn't in control right now, for the moment he saw that mask, the memories of that horrid night came back full swing.

The Kitsune-masked killer looming over him as she drove a sword into his gut. The body of Juliana sprawled out on the ground next to an overturned kitchen table, her eyes staring lifelessly at him as he tries to wake her up. A pool of blood piling beneath her. The words the killer told him, right before she slit a screaming Riley's throat.

 **"You're a demon. The Kyuubi itself. You deserve to die."**

"GET AWAY! GET OFF ME!" He screamed out, thrashing in the man's grip trying to break out. But the masked man held him in place, while the one beside him pulled out a seal tag and began performing handsigns.

"Once he's unconscious, return back-" The one holding him began to speak but was cut off by a thunderous roar off to Naruto's right, as Dekar 'Nythrus came barreling out of the woods, _Ten no ryū_ in his hands and his cloak gone, showing off the dark silvery-bronze armor of an Arbiter that he wore, minus the helmet and the upper chest piece. Moving at a speed that didn't seem possible for someone his size, as he brought the Katana down on the surprised masked man holding Naruto. The blade severed the screaming man's arm at the shoulder and continued all the way through his chest, severing the man's chest in two and spraying the three individuals in blood, while Dekar's body blocked Naruto from receiving much himself. The second masked man, who was caught off guard and completely unprepared, dropped the tag and attempted to draw his tanto, but the Sangheili swordsman was quicker, driving his sword into the man's chest and then lifting up, slicing upwards and clear through the man's heart. Blood spurted out of the gaping wound as the Shinobi went limp. Dekar then kicked the corpse of his sword and took up a defensive stance.

The former Arbiter positioned himself in front of Naruto, who was staring blankly at the mutilated corpses, tears in his eyes, as eight more masked individuals appeared all around them, enveloping them from all sides. Dekar noted that one of them looked to be about Naruto's age. It appears Danzo is short on manpower if he's desperate enough to send children after him.

"ON YOUR FEET, BOY! NOW ISN'T THE TIME TO BE LOST IN YOUR HEAD!" Dekar bellowed, removing his cloak as he eyed his opponents. Eyeing the individuals around them, he immediately knew who they were.

Root. Shimura Danzo's Minions. Of course, he of all people would have known of Naruto's absence and try to abduct him.

"Naruto. Get. Up. Now! These fiends are not ANBU! I need you to get up!" Dekar barked as he noticed the boy still hadn't moved. He cursed under his breath. The boy was lost in his head, being tormented by his demons no doubt. Dekar backed up slowly, never taking his eyes off the Root Agents, as he used his body to block the view of the corpse. It was the only thing he could do that didn't compromise his defense at the moment. All he could hope for was that Naruto would snap out of it and defend himself.

"Surrender, beast. The Jinchuuriki belongs to us." One of the Root Agents said, his voice dull and devoid of any emotion.

The former Arbiter had only one response to this, "No."

He drew out _Bitoku no Kaze_ before looking to the boy once more. Naruto was moving slightly, trying to control his breathing, but he was still barely moving. If Dekar tried to move away and attack, then the Root Shinobi would most certainly take advantage and try to steal the boy away. He needed Naruto to get. He needed him to defend himself.

"If you do not surrender, we will kill you." One of the Root Agents threatened.

Dekar snarled back, "You will try. And you will die."

He looked back at Naruto and spoke, "Boy! Look at me!" Three of the Root Agents attacked as he was momentarily distracted. But again, they underestimated how quick the 8-foot alien was as Dekar quickly brought up _Bitoku no Kaze_ to block a strike on his left, then using that same sword to slice through the tanto and slash into the woman's shoulder, drawing blood. The only reason she didn't die was the fact she anticipated the move and lurched back instinctively. One of the Root Agents to his right flung a couple of salvos of Shurikens, which he was quick to cut through or use his shoulder and arm guards to deflect the projectiles merely. It would take more than that to penetrate the nanolaminate metal of his armor, though he wished the energy shield generator on his armor was working. Having an additional layer of protection was nice.

Then two of the shinobi began forming handsigns, and the Sangheili prepared himself to dodge and counterattack. The first attack was a small fireball launched at him, but Dekar knew this was a deception. That was _Hi to honō o tōshite_ , Through Fire and Flame, an A-ranked fire jutsu that was deceptive and devastating if used correctly. A small, seemingly pathetic fireball would be launched, then envelope the area in a massive, all-consuming firestorm — a particularly dangerous jutsu in the right hands and against the careless. The only downside was it needed to impact with something before detonating, making it easily dodgeable in the open. The second attack was a water jutsu, _Ja no Kuchi_ , Snake's Mouth, a B-rank which he was sure was the main attack. Unlike the first jutsu, Snake's Mouth would follow and track him, then upon catching him would sweep him away by turning into a river. This would contain the firestorm of Through Fire and Flame and separate him from the young Jinchuuriki. He needed to eliminate the caster quickly.

Quickly formulating a plan in his head, he channeled chakra into his legs, giving a burst of speed as he launched himself forward. Slicing away a few shurikens and kunai launched at him, he dodged the fireball and surged straight past the incoming water jutsu, which turned around and followed him. Avoiding another water jutsu fired at him, he brought his swords up and prepared to cut down the Root Agent who was unable to move without canceling the jutsu. Ultimately, the Agent decided to save his own life and quickly shushined away, canceling the jutsu out in the process. Dekar sensed a Fireball Jutsu being fired from his left, just as the Through Fire and Flame Jutsu impacted the ground some 100 yards away, detonating into a massive fireball that consumed the entire length of the road and began spreading to the trees on either side. If it wasn't put out quickly, there was a solid chance of a forest fire breaking out.

Dekar quickly shushined back to Naruto's location, just in time as two Anbu approached, one of which is the younger one he had spotted earlier had attempted to move in. When he arrived back, they immediately retreated, knowing they were no match for him in a close-quarters battle. And Naruto... was still in a daze, his breathing shallow as he stared at the carnage around him. Dekar snarled in frustration. He was having to hold back on account of Naruto freezing up. They couldn't afford this; he needed the boy in this fight so he could quickly dispose of the Root Agents before more potentially showed up.

"Naruto! Do you wish to avenge your family?" He called out. Naruto finally looked up at him. He could see the terror in the boy's eyes, but the Sangheili couldn't afford to be sentimental right now. If baptism by fire was what he had to work with, then so be it.

"Do you?" He asked again sharply, causing the boy to flinch. Dekar quickly deflected more oncoming kunai as he continued speaking, "Say something, boy!"

"Y-yes." Naruto weakly stammered out.

"Do you want your family's killer brought to justice?! To become a strong warrior to protect the ones you cared about?!" These were words that Naruto had spoken to him before when Dekar had asked him what his goals and dreams were, many years ago.

Naruto took a deep breath, swallowing hard, "Y-yes." the boy slowly rolled up onto shaky knees.

The former Arbiter replied by stabbing _Ten no ryū_ into the ground behind him, standing the blade up, then bellowed out, "THEN STAND UP, GRAB YOUR SWORD, AND DEFEND YOURSELF! IT IS TIME TO FACE YOUR FEARS AND CONQUER THEM, NARUTO! WARRIORS DO NOT LET THEIR FEARS CONTROL THEM! WILL YOU LET YOURS CONTROL YOU?!"

The words echoed in Naruto's mind. Yes, he was terrified. Yes, he was afraid to die. But his mentor needed his help. Dekar had to hold back to protect him. He was a burden to the very man who was doing everything in his power to help him.

 **'You're a burden... A weakling who slows everyone down...'**

No...

 **'He's going to die because of you...'**

No.

 **'Just like everyone else that's ever been stupid enough to love you...'**

NO!

Naruto, refusing to let his mentor or anyone else getting hurt or killed because of him, slowly but surely rose on trembling legs, reaching out to grab the sword as Dekar fought off two Root Agents trying to get around him, now that he only had one sword. But they were underestimating the speed of the 8-foot Sangheili, as his hand structure allowed him more flexibility over a human's hand, letting him twist the sword around in ways they couldn't. Naruto held the sword in his hands uncertainly. He had for the longest time had difficulty even wielding a weapon for some time following the murders. Maybe it was some phobia, but when he had practiced using any bladed weapon, his movements had always been sluggish or hesitant. He's managed to get over it for the most part, but this would be the first time he would use a weapon in actual combat.

Could he even do it? Bring himself to harm another person?

 **'Only one way to find out... Though, I doubt you can do it...'**

 **(Begin Song - 'Need to be Strong' from Naruto OST)**

Naruto raised his sword, 'My sword,' he thought and prepared to defend himself. Dekar looked back at him, noting his stance. The boy was still nervous and hesitant, but he was at least on his feet and wielding a weapon. Dekar could hopefully go on the offensive if Naruto can handle himself for just a couple of minutes. They needed to end this quickly. Dekar had no idea if there were any more Root or Konoha Forces nearby, but the now raging fire would alert everyone nearby to their presence.

Five of the Root Agents closed in on Dekar while the sixth one, the younger one, stood near Naruto, likely making sure he didn't run off and try to escape. Not that Naruto was planning to.

Dekar shouted to Naruto, "Be on guard. These men are not ANBU, and they are here for you, Naruto. Deal with that one by you, while I handle the rest! It is time to put your training to the test!" before launching himself into the group of Root Agents, a warcry emanating from him as he parried with three of the Shinobi at once, his sword nothing but a blur in his hands as he battled them. Naruto caught sight of one of the Shinobi going flying some 50 feet after Dekar slammed a fist into their face.

"Yes, Sensei!" Naruto, mustering all the confidence he could, answered as he charged towards the lone Root Agent. The Root Shinobi got into a defensive stance and... pulled out a drawing pad? What the hell?

The shinobi drew something on the pad, and the next thing he knew, Naruto was backpedaling as two massive lions, made entirely out of ink, materialized off the pad in front of him.

"What the hell?" Naruto asked, having never seen anything like this before. He ransacked his mind on lessons from Dekar, trying to remember what he told him to do when faced with an unknown. 'First thing is to get an idea of what you're dealing with. Observe your foe. His clothing. Weaponry. Skills. Okay, then.' Naruto thought, 'He started with summoning some creature, and he's hanging back. Not much in the way of weaponry save for a tanto and that weird drawing pad, so maybe he's more of a support-style ninja.'

Naruto began forming handsigns, but the two lions attacked, charging forward and forcing him to bring his sword back up to defend. The first lion lunged up at him, to which Naruto, remembering his training, ducked under the beast and slashed upward. The creature was cut in two and dispelled, much to Naruto's delight. They weren't that tough. Like a clone jutsu, just one hit and they'll vanish. Good. He quickly followed up and brought his katana down on the other lion, slicing into its head and dispelling it.

Awesome! Now to deal with- Oh, crap.

Naruto looked over, expecting to see the shinobi by himself, only to see him surrounded by a dozen Oni-looking creatures, which all charged forward towards him.

'Dammit! They were just a diversion!' He thought angrily as he started hacking away at the little creatures that swarmed him. In the corner of his eye, Naruto saw the former Arbiter dodging a massive jet of flame and kicking into the kneecap of one of the Shinobi, shattering it before following up with bringing his Katana down on the woman's head, splitting it open. He then grabbed the corpse and threw it at one of the other Shinobi while simultaneously blocking the thrust of a katana-wielding shinobi with his blade.

Naruto slammed his fist into one of the Oni, dispelling it, then following this up with a slash, taking out two more. With each one that was dispelled, another would take its place. Occasionally, one of them would land a hit or claw at his clothing. Right now, his mind was a panicked wreck, but at the same time, he was focused entirely on the fight at hand. He had control of his fear for now, but this fight was going nowhere. The shinobi that was making these ink creations kept creating more, roughly as fast as he was losing them. Naruto needed to clear these things out in one strike, but he needed to get some distance first.

After destroying another three of the creations, Naruto did the handsigns for a substitution jutsu, then let one of the creature's claw into him. Next thing he knew, he was a good 40 feet away, having swapped out with a fallen branch. And the ink creatures were all bunched up. Perfect.

Quickly putting his sword away, he started performing handsigns, then shouted out, "Fire Style: Explosion Jutsu!" shooting out a small fireball from his mouth. The fireball landed right in the midst of the ink creations and detonated, taking out the entire hoard of creatures in one decisive blow. The shinobi who had been creating them was forced to jump back to avoid being caught in the blast.

'Oh, no you don't!' Naruto thought, not going to give the Shinobi the chance to conjure up more of those stupid things. "Water Style: Ice Darts Jutsu!" He shouted, launching several barrages of ice darts out at the Shinobi, forcing him to focus on dodging rather than making more of his creations. Naruto didn't let up, launching several more barrages of Ice Darts as he tried to close the distance between the two. Jumping high up into the air towards the Shinobi, Naruto launched another jutsu, "Water Style: Gunshot Jutsu!" firing out several highly condensed balls of water that went sailing out at rapid speed and the most astonishing thing happened. The enemy Shinobi appeared to have made a mistake as he jumped right in the path of one of these balls, which slammed into his skull at a high velocity. Naruto, despite being 30 feet away and having the sounds of battle raging in his ears, still hear the sickening crack as the boy's skull jerked suddenly to the left, hanging limply as the Shinobi toppled to the ground. He didn't move.

Naruto could look in shock at what he had done. He... He'd killed someone... Taken another life... His brain tried to rationalize it, it was in self-defense after all, but that didn't stop him from feeling the incredible amount of remorse and guilt that built inside him. Until the enemy shinobi fell apart and turned into a pool of ink. Huh?!

"You're not very bright, are you?" A calm voice asked from behind.

Naruto turned to the voice behind him but was met with a fist slamming into his face, sending him crashing into the ground. Grunting, Naruto quickly picked himself up, but almost immediately came under attack from the very alive shinobi, who launched a barrage of Taijutsu attacks. The attacks were just too quick to counter, leaving Naruto only able to be on the defensive as he tried to withstand the onslaught. This was not what he was expecting; he completely underestimated his opponent. Had completely misread him.

"I figured that someone being trained by the Reaper of all people would have learned that shouting out your jutsu to the point where your opponent can hear it is just a bad idea. But you're obviously not very smart. I suppose it's to be expected if your class records are anything to go by." The shinobi said, his voice sounding almost... devoid of any emotion.

Wait, what did he say about class records? Who the hell were these guys? Were they Konoha Shinobi? Why weren't they wearing any headbands, then?

Several of the strikes launched at Naruto managed to land, either striking him in the gut, the shoulders, or occasionally the face as he was thrown back. Defensive Taijutsu had never been his strong suit and now it was costing him. He needed to find an opening to go on the offensive. But the enemy shinobi had other ideas. A high kick sent him flying backward, landing in a heap some 20 feet away. Naruto quickly rose to his feet, resuming his defensive stance. But the enemy shinobi just merely stood there, his head tilted to the side as if he was studying him.

"Your fighting style and your stance are both horrible. I guess the Reaper isn't as good of a teacher as believed. Are you even serious about being a shinobi or do the academy teachers actually sabotage you that badly?" The Root Agent asked bluntly.

"Shut up."

"Perhaps Taijutsu isn't his strong suit. He does seem to like using a sword. I read in a book somewhere that Elites prefer to use swords for close quarters battle. Perhaps that's why your Taijutsu seems so lackluster."

"I said shut up! Are you planning on talking me to death?" Naruto shouted, aggravated. It was almost like the agent wasn't even taking him seriously. It was unnerving him. He wished he had pulled out his vest back in the town, which had several pouches on it with all his kunai and shurikens. It was stupid for him not to do that beforehand. Dekar had always told him to expect a fight.

The shinobi suddenly charged forward with a burst of speed. Naruto, deciding he wasn't going to go on the defensive again, launched himself ahead, pulling his sword back out. He threw a barrage of slashes and kicks at the Root Agent, who blocked or dodged them all with ease as Naruto tried to land a hit. Then, as the blond Jinchuuriki launched a jab with his sword, the Root agent sidestepped and caught his hand with ease, then twisted his hand and forcing Naruto to drop his sword. "No need to talk you to death. Beating you seems to be working just fine." He suddenly countered, slamming three rapid punches into Naruto's face before slamming a knee in his gut, knocking all the air out of him as he gasped. The Root Shinobi then launched a backflipping kick into Naruto's head, the strike hitting so hard that Naruto did a backflip before crashing onto the ground.

"Though, you misunderstand our intent. I'm not trying to kill you. We're merely taking you to where you should have gone in the first place." The Root Agent explained as he calmly walked towards the blond Jinchuuriki. Naruto was starting to panic. This shinobi wasn't even trying with him. He was pathetic compared to this guy.

"W-What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto asked as he slowly got up on shaky limbs. His vision was still blurred from the number of hits his head had taken. He had to have gotten a concussion from that onslaught.

"You're a Jinchuuriki, the ultimate weapon for a Hidden Village. You should have been molded as such growing up, becoming the perfect tool for the village to use. But instead, you've been raised to believe you're just a normal person. That you can be just like everyone else when the truth is quite the opposite."

"I'm... not anyone's weapon!" Naruto countered, standing back up.

"Wrong." The Root Agent launched himself at Naruto, who brought his hands up and blocked the first salvo of punches and kicks, but his blurred vision still hadn't recovered, and soon enough multiple strikes broke through and started pummeling the young Jinchuuriki. But Naruto suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, much to the surprise of the Root Agent.

'Must have done it when he was getting up,' he thought as he sensed someone behind him. Turning to confront them, the Root Agent was faced with Naruto, barely ten feet away and having just finished his hand signs and shouted, "Water Style! GUNSHOT JUTSU!", With several balls of chakra-enhanced water at the agent. There was no way to dodge this time, as three of the balls slammed into him and sent him sailing back, one of which struck his mask and shattered part of it off, revealing black hair, a dark eye and surprisingly pale, almost translucent-looking skin. Naruto could see a trickle of blood leaking from an injury in the Root Agent's hair and grinned, knowing that had been the real Agent and not some clone.

To his credit, the Root Agent recovered quickly, back on his feet as Naruto launched another attack, "Earth Style! Earth River Flow!" blowing out a massive stream of earth and mud out of his mouth, creating a massive torrent of slippery mud that streamed towards the Agent, who was forced to move out of the way to avoid being caught in it. Quickly shifting direction, the young Agent then launched two salvos of shurikens at Naruto, forcing him to dodge them while buying the Root Operative precious time to close the distance. He quickly formed handsigns and spoke _"Doryūsō."_ Earth Style: Rising Stone Spears, which caused a wave of stone spikes to burst out of the ground, going straight towards Naruto. He quickly countered by casting "Earth Style: Earth Barrier," slamming his foot into the ground and making a small barrier around him that stopped the spears from coming up at him. Again though, Naruto was too late to notice that this had also been nothing but a distraction as several kunai with paper bombs landed all around the front of him. Naruto tried to make hand signs to substitute away, but a trio of shurikens found themselves piercing his hand and stomach, earning a scream of pain just before the paper bombs detonated.

The explosion kicked up debris and dust, throwing Naruto back and slamming him into a risen slab of rock, knocking the wind out of him. The shuriken puncturing his hand slid out and clattered the ground next to him. Gasping for air, Naruto tried to get back on his feet, but a sudden jab into his stomach sent him back on the ground, followed by several rapid strikes to his head and chest. Naruto gasped out, coughing up some blood as his check was busted from a solid right hook. Terror started to grip his mind, unable to think straight and unable to even launch a counter.

After what felt like an eternity, the barrage of blows finally stopped, leaving Naruto lying there bloodied and beaten, his body covered in bruises and cuts. His breath was heavy and labored, struggling to steady his breathing. He could see the shuriken next to him, just barely in arms reach. He started reaching out for it, but the Root Agent grasped him by his collar and brought him close.

"If your fighting skills are anything to go by, it shouldn't take them long to mold you." The agent commented. Naruto struggled in his grip as the agent pulled out a seal tag.

 **Meanwhile...  
** **(Begin Song - 'Ultra-Violence' from Naruto OST)**

Dekar slammed his fist into the Root Agent's stomach, shattering a few ribs from the sheer force as he then brought _Bitoku no Kaze_ down on her, slicing into her neck and right through her torso, before swinging around and catching a strike from another Root Operative's tanto. Snarling, he used his superior strength to throw him back and send him crashing into the ground. Sensing two more Root Agents behind him, charging at him with weapons and jutsus ready. The former Arbiter rotated his body and with a surprising burst of speed, spun around and slashed the two with his sword, decapitating them in one fell strike. One of their tantos had managed to stab his gut, but the short sword merely bounced off the armor he wore.

Four of the fools were dead. Three left to kill, minus the one Naruto was fighting.

He had managed to see only glimpses of the boy's fight, but it was clear Naruto was outmatched. Unfortunately, this was to be expected considering their foe. Root Operatives were taken from Orphanages and trained from a young age into killers. He wouldn't be surprised if the agent Naruto was facing, despite being about the boy's age, had already been on numerous missions that required him to kill. The only reason Naruto was still alive and even remotely able to fight by Dekar, was because the Sangheili Warrior had correctly assumed that Root was here to capture Naruto, not kill him. Killing him was probably just a bonus.

He saw another Root Agent launch a fire jutsu at him, Flame Wolf from the look of it, as what looked like three wolves made purely of flame came lunging at him. Channeling chakra into his legs once more, he dashed forward towards the caster, dodging the first wolf, then sprinting ahead and leaping over the second one. But the third one cut off his avenue of escape, and with the other two closing in behind him, he did the only thing he could do. He quickly reached down to his hip and extended a windmill shuriken, throwing the weapon with incredible force that propelled the shuriken with tremendous speed. The giant shuriken, catching the agent off guard, slammed into him and embedded itself halfway into the left side his chest. The sheer force of the blow threw the corpse backward some 20 feet before stopping. The flame wolves, mere seconds away from biting into him and exploding into a maelstrom of fire, collapsed and fell apart, a small dying flame signifying where they each had been.

Five dead, two left to slay.

The Root Agents, in either a show of bravery or stupidity, Dekar wasn't sure which, refused to cut their losses and retreat. They circled him, looking for an opening. Dekar remained still, _Bitoku no Kaze_ raised and at the ready, the only part of him moving was his head as he tracked either ninja.

"You'd be wise to retreat, Root. By this point, you have no hope of killing me. Surely you realize that." Dekar tries to taunt, despite not believing it himself one bit. He was confident in his skills and sure he would emerge victorious in battle, he would not allow himself to get overconfident. Even the greatest of warriors can die from the weakest of warriors. All it would take is but one fatal mistake. Only fools would believe otherwise.

"Even if every one of us is slain in battle, as long as you are killed then our objective has been accomplished." One of the Root Agents replied.

"Really? And here I thought you were trying to kidnap the boy. I'm flattered to know Danzo despises me that much." The former Arbiter taunted, sounding amused.

"Silence, beast. You will not mock Danzo-sama in such a manner."

"I'll mock him as I wish and you'll do nothing about it. If he truly were such a great warrior, he would have come out here himself to kill me instead of sending his pets to do it for him." Dekar retorted, "You may think that he's some great warrior, but to me, all this shows is just how much of a coward he truly is and how afraid of me he honestly is."

That did it. One of the Root Agents, apparently enraged by the mocking of their lord, launched forward. 'Their blind devotion to him knows no bounds, does it?' Dekar thought irritably, reminding him too much of a defunct empire he once served as he prepared to cut this fool down. The Root Agent began forming handsigns, which had Dekar preparing to counter the move once he launched it.

But then, the former Arbiter recognized what Jutsu the handsigns were for, just as they were being finished.

 _Chikyū shōgekiha_ , Earth Style: Earth Shockwave Jutsu. A powerful, B-Ranked Area of Effect Jutsu. This damn fool was having a lapse of judgment.

Shockwave was a massive area of effect attack, causing the ground beneath them to succumb to several severe tremors that would break up the field and cause trees or buildings to be displaced and collapsed. Another problem for him was that this jutsu had an attack range of up to 6 kilometers to a minimum of 2, depending on how much chakra was put into the attack. And the effects were instantaneous, too, which meant one thing.

Dekar wouldn't be able to dodge this attack.

"Oh, dear," Was all Dekar could get out before the Root Agent slammed the attack into the ground. Then, everything around them went to hell. Both the agents and the Reaper were thrown about as the ground beneath them erupted.

 **(Song Ends.)  
** **Meanwhile...**

Just as the Root Agent was about to put the seal tag on Naruto's forehead, the ground around them exploded into action, throwing the agent off of Naruto and tossing the two around as parts of the ground beneath them rose up and down randomly, violently deforming the land and causing several trees to collapse and crash, and several large chunks of earth to jut upward. Naruto screamed out as he was thrown about, unable to do anything except roll up into a ball and hopefully ride out the earthquake. He was terrified out of his mind, fear causing him to imagine the worst-case scenarios. A tree falling on top of him. A chasm opening up and swallowing him, leaving him buried alive. Dekar dead. Him being captured and tortured by those non-ANBU shinobi.

He just wanted this insanity to stop. All of it.

As if the elements heard his plea, the earthquake eventually eased off and ceased altogether. Naruto looked around slowly, coughing up some dust that had gotten in his mouth then noticed something in his hand. Somehow, in all the commotion, he had managed to grab the shuriken that had fallen out earlier. He winced and whimpered slightly as he remembered the other two still embedded in his flesh. With a hesitant hand, he grabbed the one in his stomach. Breathing a couple time deeply, he quickly yanked the weapon out, fighting to hold in the yelp of pain escaping his lips as a trickle of blood spurted out. It hurt to breath, making him wonder if he had a broken rib or two. Somehow his pack had managed to stay on, so he squirmed out of it and set it to the side to ease the pain in his side. It was easier to breath, but he couldn't dwell on that right now. He grasped the other shuriken in his stomach and quickly yanked it out. This time, he couldn't contain the scream that left his lips, as all the energy in his body seemed to leave him. He head fell back limply, panting and whimpering slightly as he tried to calm his breathing and tossed the shurikens aside. Naruto wasn't... too concerned with the injuries. They hurt, yeah, but the Kyuubi would heal them before the day was even over. His heart was beating a mile a minute, threatening to come bursting out of his chest. His mind was a jumbled mess, half-filled with terror and adrenaline at the same time. But he was alive.

Was Dekar still alive? He hoped to Kami he was-

A sudden hand wrapped around his neck and began choking him. Naruto gasped out, grasping at the hand with his own as the Root Agent from before was now on top of him, his mask gone revealing a young pale face with stern black irises glaring at him. Blood trickled from the side of his head, and the Root Agent was leaning most of his weight on his left leg, his right leg broken at the tibia bone. His left hand's fingers were broken and useless at the moment. His clothes were torn slightly and covered in dirt, having been thrown around violently during the earthquake jutsu.

"This has gone on long enough." The Agent commented, his hands pressing tighter on the Jinchuuriki's neck as he sought to incapacitate him. Having lost his seal tag and his left hand a mangled mess, this was all he could do. Naruto struggled in the Root Agent's grip, gasping for air as the pressure on his windpipe tightened. He tried to punch the agent off him, but his punches had no strength in them due to their position and the Root Agent merely tightened his grip.

Terror gripped Naruto's mind once more, desperately trying to break free as his air supply was running out. He was going to die here! He could feel his eyes getting wet. His vision was starting to blur and grow dim. Fear had now completely consumed his mind. Naruto's left hand continued trying to break the grip, while his right hand grasped at the ground, looking for something, anything he could use as a weapon.

As his vision started to fail, he faintly acknowledged the feeling of something with several sharp ends in his right hand. He had to use whatever he could. With no time to waste, he grasped it tightly enough to draw blood, this sudden pain gave him enough adrenaline to focus and, with a scream, not of rage or anger, more of pure desperation, he brought up the object and slammed it into the side of the agent's head.

The Root Agent's eyes went wide, gasping out as the shuriken stabbed into his neck. Blood spurt out of the wound, the agent instinctively recoiled and brought his hands up to the wound. Naruto could finally breathe again and launched into action, reaching for anything to use as a weapon. His mind was working on pure instinct at this point as the Jinchuuriki grabbed a fist sized rock in his hand. The Root Agent toppled beside him, gasping out and trying to stop the bleeding in his throat as Naruto yelled out, rising up next to the young Root Agent and slamming the rock into the side of the boy's head with a sickening crack. The Root Agent fell over with a choked grunt, Naruto quickly pouncing on the agent and then proceeded to hit him over and over again. The rock wasn't the best weapon for fighting a person, but the head and neck were exceptionally vulnerable spots, provided you hit them either repeatedly or hard enough to break something. The Root Agent, choking up blood, struggled underneath the young Jinchuuriki's onslaught, who wasn't even aware of what he was doing at this point. His mind was gripped with fear and acting purely on instincts. The boy screamed again and again with each slam of the rock, blood spurting out with each hit and a sickening wet smack calling out each time the rock made contact with flesh. His face, hands, and arms were covered in drops of blood, the body underneath having now stopped struggling, remaining eerily still.

Still, he didn't stop. Naruto continued to hit and lash out, even as a pair of clawed hands grasped him and pulled him back. "Boy! Control yourself!" He heard someone shout, but he kept lashing out, rational thinking gone.

"BOY! LOOK AT ME!"

"NO!" The boy wailed, his eyes closed tightly and still lashing out.

"NARUTO! LOOK AT ME!" Dekar shouted, grabbing the boy by his arms and swinging him around to face him. "IT IS ALRIGHT! You have won, Naruto! Calm yourself!" Slowly, Naruto stopped struggling as the words slowly began to sink in. His eyes, puffy and full of tears, slowly opened as he looked up at his mentor. Dekar continued to repeat the words, "Calm down." and "It's over." over and over. Naruto ceased resisting, his body losing all its strength as the adrenaline left him. His breathing was heavy and rapid, and his heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

 **(Begin Song - 'Despair' from Naruto OST.)**

He gulped down several breathes of air, as he slowly looked down at his trembling hands. His arms and hands were covered in blood, the rock in his right hand painted red with gore. Naruto stared blankly at the blood on his hands, his mind remembering in grim detail what he had done.

"I... I-I..." Naruto tried to stammer out, but whatever words he was about to speak were lost in his throat as he choked. He looked back at the Root Agent's body behind him, sprawled out and surrounded by a pool of his own blood. His neck was bleeding profusely, the shuriken still jammed into it. The operative couldn't have been more than a year older than Naruto at most, his black irises staring blankly at the sky and his mouth covered in blood that he had coughed up in his last fleeting moments. The whole side of his head and neck were bruised and discolored. A noticeable dent could be seen in the boy's head, leaking blood profusely, and with bits of bone and brain matter visible from the grave injury.

Naruto stared blankly at the corpse, the rock falling limply out of his hand and his breathing shallow as one sentence going through his mind over and over, again.

'I killed him. I killed him. I killed him.'

 **'You killed him... To be expected of a murderer... A Demon... A Monster...'**

"Look at me, Naruto." Dekar softly said, repeating it when Naruto didn't. Slowly, the boy tore his gaze from the body, looking up at Dekar with tears streaming down.

"Close your heart to it." The Sangheili said, "He made his decision. You defended yourself."

 **'You murdered someone... a child, you fucking animal...'**

Naruto swallowed a lump in his throat. He'd never killed anyone before. Sure, he's had his share of fights at the academy, but... to kill someone... to take another person's life...

"Naruto. Do not ever feel proud or joyous of taking one's life, but do not be ashamed of it, either. You are a warrior. You will what you must do in order to survive." Dekar tried to console, easing his grip on the boy's shoulders as he kept talking, "On this journey, and the many more you will embark on afterward, you will be forced to make decisions and choices you do not want to make. That no one wishes to make. But that is the reality of our galaxy. We live in a cruel and harsh galaxy, unforgiving and merciless to the weak. In order to survive in this galaxy, you must be like stone and do what you must to survive."

Naruto swallowed another lump, trying to suppress a sniffle but failing as the former Arbiter looked down at him. The imbecile of a Root Agent who had launched that Earthquake Jutsu had miscalculated the amount of chakra he had put in it. Instead of crippling Dekar, who had hardly been injured in the entire battle aside from a bruised hand, he ended up killing his teammate by accident. That Root Operative was now lying on the ground with his neck at an unnatural angle. The last coward fled afterward, likely to go warn any fellow Root Operatives of where they were.

They needed to move. The forest fire had been largely put out by the jutsu, but some of the fire still remained and people would come to investigate.

He had been so wrapped up in planning their next course of action on reaching the coast that Dekar had been caught off guard when Naruto suddenly reached in and wrapped his arms around his massive frame, his body trembling and sniffling softly as he did so. Dekar immediately tensed up. Despite having been around humans for almost an entire human century now and knowing how physical they tended to be with their affection, he still was not used to people grasping him or 'hugging' as humans called it. Sangheili were never so physical with their emotions, usually reserving such contact for either fighting or reproduction. His hands were suspended in midair, hesitating on what to do.

Slowly, Dekar brought his hands closer and awkwardly patted the young Jinchuuriki on the back. "It is... alright, Naruto. You will overcome this. I am certain."

 **(Song Ends.)**

"W-When I didn't see you... I... I thought... you were hurt or... or..." Naruto stammered out, refusing to let go of the Sangheili Warrior.

"I am alright, child."

"Y-you're not hurt?" No. Not really. Root was normally not this uncoordinated and ineffective if he was going off past encounters with the organization. Perhaps the rumors of Danzo being short on manpower was true, and he was having to make do with what he had. Aside from a bruised hand, a couple cuts and scorches, Dekar really hadn't been hurt at all.

"Nothing that won't heal within a day or two," Dekar admitted that much. Though he was a powerful and skilled warrior, he refused to give Naruto the idea that he was somehow invincible. He knew all too well how easily someone could kill him. All it would take was a simple mistake or someone being in the right place at the right time.

'Even the greatest of warriors can die from the weakest of warriors. Only fools would believe in their own invincibility.'

Dekar slowly rose up, causing Naruto to reluctantly let go of him as the former Arbiter surveyed their surroundings. He was certain they were alone, but one could never be too cautious. "What about you?"

"I, uh..." Naruto slowly said, pressing a hand to his side, wincing as he touched his ribs, "I think a couple of ribs are broken. I got cut in a few places, but I'm not worried about those."

"Let me see." Dekar ordered, letting the boy slowly lift his shirt to reveal his chest. The Sangheili warrior placed a hand on the injury to feel, being as delicate as possible as he noticed Naruto's pain expression. Pulling out a scroll, he quickly pulled out a medical kit, opening it up to pull out a packet of numbing agent and a syringe. Handing the syringe to Naruto, since his hands were smaller and more adept for using the small human medical tool, Dekar then had Naruto extract the numbing agent into the syringe then positioned the syringe inbetween the two broken ribs, which were thankfully next to one another.

"Slowly, now. Do not rush." Dekar said as he helped the boy slowly guide the syringe into his skin, earning a grunt of discomfort as the syringe penetrated the skin. Once the needle was deep enough in, Dekar press down on the plunger and inserted the entirety of the syringe's numbing agent into Naruto. The boy sharply gasped at how cold the stuff was as it entered his body, but this quickly turned into a sigh of relief as the numbing agent quickly went into action. His broken ribs and the surrounding skin and flesh were numb within seconds, making it much easier to breath. Dekar quickly extracted the syringe and discarded it, before returning the medical kit back to his scroll. That was the best he could do to ease the child's pain for now until the Kyuubi finished healing. The numbing agent was high quality, some of the same agent used in hospitals, and would last for at least a good six human hours, more than enough time for the Kyuubi to finish repairing the damage to its host.

"Better?" Dekar asked softly, earning a breathless nod as Naruto took several deep breaths.

"Alright. As much as I would like to give you time to heal your injury, unfortunately, this battle and the forest fire will have attracted the attention of everyone for miles around. We need to move quickly." Dekar commented, walking over and inspecting one of the Root bodies, one he believed was the commander of this unit. He searched the individual to for any useful intelligence, but as he suspected, the agent had nothing on him of intelligence value. Root Operatives were too smart for that, he would give them that much. He quickly recovered the windmill shuriken and returned it to the slot on his hip, then handed Naruto his sword back, having picked it up as he had ran over to the boy earlier.

Looking back at Naruto, he asked, "Are you well enough to continue traveling? Once we are off, we will not stop for some time."

Naruto glanced back at the bodies, a pit in his stomach forming. It still hurt to breath if he took too deep a breath, but for the most part he couldn't even feel the pain anymore. His hand trembled slightly and his breathing hitched in his throat. Part of him wanted to say 'Enough!', turn around and go home. Maybe quit the academy while he was at it.

 **'Yes, that's right... Run home, weakling... Go hide under the bed like the coward you are...'**

'But... we've gone so far. We're so close, now...' Naruto knew deep down that if he gave up here, he'd never forgive himself. He wasn't just letting down himself, he was letting down Dekar, his mother and father, and his adoptive family by giving in. How could he ever face any of them, if they knew he gave up?

"Naruto?" The boy was snapped out of his thoughts, looking back to his mentor who stared at him questionably.

He was afraid. Deathly afraid. Afraid of a lot of things, but most of all afraid of being helpless and useless. He had been both helpless and useless on the night his family was murdered. Unable to protect his little sister... He never wanted that to happen again. He never wanted to be helpless again, especially to the people he loved.

So, with an uncertain gaze and trembling hands, the boy swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, "Y-yes, sensei. I'm good to travel." He started to move, but then remembered something, pulling off his backpack and putting on his vest with his weapons pouches on it. Naruto wasn't going to be unprepared, again. He glanced at the bodies one last time before asking, "What about the bodies?"

Dekar gave him a questioning look, "What about them? We do not have time to cover up the evidence of this battle and the scavengers of the forest will pick the corpses long before anyone arrives, making it harder to identify them. With any luck, the locals will have assumed some bandits killed them before Konoha finally learns the truth." Retrieving his cloak, Dekar put it back on, placing the hood over his head once more before commanding, "Let us make haste."

The two shushined away a couple times through the forest, then leaped through the tree branches slowly, due to Naruto's broken ribs which would fully heal within a few hours thanks to the Kyuubi, trying to put as much distance as they could between them and the battle. Naruto stayed quiet for the duration of the trek, silently looking ahead as they traveled. Dekar decided not to inquire as to what he was thinking, already having a good idea as to what it was. He would let the boy come to terms with his first kill. He had helped Naruto as best he could. Coming to terms with it would be largely up to him. Though he would not say it aloud right now, Dekar was proud of the boy. Despite his fears and self-doubt, Naruto had managed to control his fears long enough and hold his own in a fight against a superior foe. And against a Root Agent no less. What a horrible combatant to have to face in your first battle, even if it was a child. Still, Naruto had managed to endure the ordeal and ultimately killed his foe, something he will likely have to do more of on this trip. He would complement the boy later on his achievement, but for now, Naruto needed to come to terms with what he did.

It had also helped that none of the Root agents had bothered to help their lone companion, instead, they focused on him. Had he been the commander of that unit, he would have likely seized Naruto first and ran, then sacrifice two or three of his soldiers to delay him long enough to lose him in the woods. It didn't matter how good Dekar's sensing ability was, had they gone into the forest with Naruto, he would have lost them eventually.

And Naruto would have been in the clutches of Danzo, a fate possibly worse than death for the likes of Naruto.

After several miles of nonstop leaping through the trees, they started to slow their pace and Naruto finally asked one question that had lingered on his mind, "Hey, sensei. Back during the battle with those guys. They kinda looked like them, but you said they weren't ANBU. So, who were they, then?"

"Those were Root Agents. Shimura Danzo's little personal army. His equivalent to ANBU." Dekar answered.

Naruto scowled, realizing what that one Root agent was talking about now, and knowing full well who Danzo was. If even half of what Dekar had said about the man was an exaggeration, then he still would have been an awful man.

"Were they after me? Because of... you know." Naruto inquired, certain he already knew the answer.

"I would say that's a safe assumption. I think if they had been after me, they would have sent more instead of the small force they did. Danzo has long wanted to incorporate you into Root, turn you into an unfeeling killer, but the Hokage forbid it. Even if he had allowed it, I most certainly would not." Dekar answered.

"So why is Danzo even allowed his own army of shinobi? Isn't that a threat to the Hokage's power?"

"Oh, absolutely. But Danzo, for all his flaws and questionable methods, is completely loyal to Konoha. He wouldn't dare openly launch a coup to try and seize the title of Hokage, even if he believes he knows how to run the village better." Dekar conceded, "I will give the man credit, he would rather die first than betray Konoha."

"Huh." Naruto muttered as he pondered this, "So, if Danzo knew that we had left the village, I guess that means Jiji knows I've left, too."

"Not necessarily. Remember, Danzo wants you for Root because he believes you, a Jinchuuriki, should be molded into an unthinking, unquestioning killer, living solely for the defense of the village. He will keep this information to himself for as long as possible because the rest of Konoha knowing of your absence will be counterproductive to that goal. If he can capture you quietly and hide you away, then he can sit there and tell the Hokage whatever he wants regarding your fate. No one would be able to tell otherwise."

Naruto shuddered at that thought. The idea of being... 'reconditioned' or whatever you want to call it. Being turned into a mindless killer living solely for the sake of killing. What a horrible existence.

"Still, I guess Jiji's going to find out soon enough as it is. If he hasn't already." The young Jinchuuriki thought.

"Which would make crossing the sea as quickly as possible our top priority," Dekar responded, "We're still at least a day from the coast. We'll try to cover as much ground as we can today, then settle in for the night. Depending on how much ground we cover today, we may make it to Uzushiogakure just after midday."

"Yes, Sensei!" Naruto shouted, a little of confidence now coming back. Dekar nodded at this good sign. It showed Naruto, maybe not accepting his first kill, had at least come to terms with it. 'Good. Good. Perhaps we can strengthen his mind, after all.' Dekar thought as the two sprinted through the trees, trying to cover as much ground as they could before nightfall.

* * *

 **So for those of you wondering and maybe didn't realize it, yes, that was Sai that Naruto just fought and killed. So... yeah, we won't be seeing him anymore. Nothing personal against the character, it's just how the story played out as I wrote it. Sorry to all my Sai Fans out-**

 ***Horde of Sai fans come breaking down Azores' door, charging in with torches and pitchforks, screaming bloody murder as they attempt to avenge their beloved character. (With an occasional shout of 'SAI/INO FOREVER!')** **Azores grabs a katana, backs into a corner, and starts swinging it wildly to fend them off.***

 **BACK! BACK! BACK, YOU CRAZED HEATHENS! GET OUTTA HERE! GET OUTTA MY ROOM!**

 **All joking aside, that's it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **-Azores**


	4. Odyseey Arc: Part 4

**Alright so before we start this chapter, I just want to say that I'm not the best at writing about intimacy and emotions in depth regarding romantic feelings, which there is a bit of in this chapter. I'm still learning as I write stories, so if it seems like I've screwed something up or it just didn't seem believable, by all means, give me a shout and give me your thoughts on what I could have changed or done to make it better.**

 **Thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **I don't own Halo or Naruto.**

 **Bold-My Own Words**

 **"Bold"-Demon Speaking**

 **'Bold'-Demon/Dark Thoughts**

 _ **Bold & Italic-Locations, Time & Calendar**_

Normal-Narrative

"Normal"-Person Speaking

'Normal'-Thoughts/Inner Sakura Speaking

 _"Italic"-Foreign Language_

 _'Italic'-Radio Chatter_

 _/Italic\\-AI/Computer typing/Written Message_

 **Shinsei Seasons:**

 **Spring: April 25 - August 4**

 **Summer: August 5 - October 11**

 **Fall: October 12 -January 6**

 **Winter: January 7 - April 24**

 **Note: The mapping of the Elemental Nations in this Fic is based on 'Elemental Nations Political Map' by xShadowRebirthx on Deviantart. (There's a geography map version, too.)**

* * *

 **!WARNING!**

 **This story contains content not suited for younger readers, such as Violence, Blood and Gore, Language, and Explicit Sexual Content. This Chapter's Rating will be placed at M-Rated. Future Chapters may, and most likely will switch back and forth between the T and M ratings.**

 **Regardless, Reader Discretion for this Chapter is advised.**

* * *

 **-Lies and secrets, they are like cancer in the soul. They eat away what is good and leave only destruction behind.**

 **Cassandra Clare**

 **-Why do we ignore the ones who adore us, adore the ones who ignore us, love the ones who hurt us, and hurt the ones that love us?**

 **Unknown**

 **-Friendship is like a glass ornament. Once it is broken, it can rarely be put back together the same way.**

 **Unknown**

* * *

 **Arc 1  
** **Episode 4  
** **-Romantic Rivalry/Untold Secrets!-**

 _ **1133 AM  
** **October 25, 2563  
** **Konoha  
** **Outside the Yamanaka Compound  
** **Yamanaka Flower Store**_

Ino Yamanaka usually enjoyed working in her clan's flower shop. Like many in her family, she had a particular affection for botany and loved working around the various flowers and plants that were sold in their shop, all of them coming from many corners of both the Elemental Nations and Dominion Space. Today, though, her mood was a bit sour. A certain rival had come into her shop, looking to buy flowers. Now, who could Haruno Sakura, her one-time friend-now rival, possibly want to buy flowers for? It wasn't her mom's birthday, and her sister Sayuki was her twin, so she shared the same birthday as her. So who could those flowers possibly be for?

Only one name came to her mind, and the thought irked her to no end.

"Forehead," Ino, wearing a green Kimono and having her platinum hair up in her usual ponytail, said sweetly from behind the counter, putting on the friendliest face she could. "Who exactly are you buying those for?"

Sakura, wearing a blue dress and her long pink hair hanging loosely behind her shoulders, smiled sweetly back, "Why, piggy, it's none of your business who I'm buying these for. All you need to do is ring them up and sell them to me."

"Oh, of course. But did you make sure they have the barcodes on them? I can't sell them if I can't scan them, billboard-brow."

"Of course I checked my little blonde porker. I'd be silly not to."

The two girls continued to smile sweetly at one another, while on the inside, they were both seething and glaring daggers at one another. A couple of people walking by them overheard their conversation and couldn't help but sweatdrop at the casual name-calling.

'GRAH! HOW DARE THIS LITTLE PINK TRAMP USE MY FAMILY'S BUSINESS TO TRY AND WOO MY SASUKE-KUN! I OUGHTA WALLOP THE SNOT OUT OF HER!' Ino thought bitterly.

'THE NERVE OF THIS BLONDE BIMBO! TRYING TO KEEP ME FROM GETTING FLOWERS, JUST CAUSE SHE THINKS THEY'RE FOR SASUKE-KUN!' Sakura seethed in her mind, followed by 'Inner Sakura' saying, 'CHA! WE SHOULD KICK HER BUTT!'

Ino suppressed a growl as her rival placed the flowers on the register stand. As much as Ino didn't want to, she couldn't refuse Sakura's business. She hadn't broken any rules and refusing her would only make her store and family look bad. Swallowing her pride, Ino took the flowers and sold them to her rival, who just smirk in victory as she walked off with her present.

The moment Sakura walked out of the store, Ino slammed a fist on the counter and scowled, "That little-" she stopped herself, not wanting to cause a scene in the store. There were still other customers inside, after all. And the last thing she wanted to do was make a fool of herself in front of so many people.

While she continued to serve other customers, she couldn't help but brood over the idea of Sakura or some other girl (Kami knows there are at least a hundred fangirls at this point. That she knows of.) seducing Sasuke-kun and marrying him. But at the moment, the runner-ups for becoming Mrs. Uchiha seemed to be both Sakura and her, being that they were the most tenacious at trying to win him over. And she hated the idea of losing Sasuke-kun to her. The way she had broken up their friendship when after learning they both loved the same guy... Ino discarded the memory. It had hurt, but she wasn't going to dwell on the past. The future's what mattered.

Specifically, one involving her and her dream man being wedded, then having lots of children. Ino grinned and blushed as her little daydream, before quickly snapping out of it and getting back to work.

As she continued working the counter, she kept wondering if there was a way to knock Sakura out of the competition, but the only surefire way she could think of was to have her fall in love with someone else.

Well… Naruto has a crush on her... As a matter of fact, he has a massive crush on her...

Ino pondered it for a few moments but ultimately frowned. It might work, but Sakura was head over heels in love with Sasuke, like herself and many of the fangirls, so getting her to fall for Naruto would be a massive undertaking. It didn't help that Naruto pretty much didn't exist as far as forehead was concerned. Naruto was a loner and an outcast at the academy and was also apparently hated by most of the adults in the village for some reason. Why? She had no clue. But no girl in their right mind would want that kind of trouble and reputation being thrown their way. She was ashamed to admit that part of the reason she even had bothered talking to him, to begin with just so her mother would stop pestering her about it, not wanting anything to do with him. Now, of course, she knew better. He wasn't bad or anything, just... quiet and kept to himself.

… …

'Why do all the adults seem to hate Naruto so much?' Ino pondered, propping her head up on the counter with a hand as she dwelled on the thought. She couldn't think of anything he had done to deserve such-

"Ino, dear?" She was snapped out of her thoughts by her mother who was walking up behind her. "Yes, mom?"

"We're closing for lunch, go ahead and shut down."

"Yes, 'mam."

Closing down the shop for a bit, she changed into one of her school outfits, grabbed some lunch, and pondered about what she was going to do. Maybe she'd get some shopping done; she was in need of some new one as she started growing out of her old clothes. Or perhaps she should stop by the Nara Clan's Compound and talk to Shikamaru's Family. It's been a while since they've spoken, and the Nara and Akimichi Clans had always been close to her own.

But despite every thought that popped into her head, her mind kept going back to the idea of getting Naruto and Sakura together. So what if it was for a selfish reason? All's fair in love and war, and besides, this was a win-win for her and Naruto. No harm, no foul. She had an hour and a half before her lunch break was over, so she ultimately decided she'd talk to the blonde dork to see what he thought about it. She could already picture what he'd say. He'd probably be against it, thinking it was a little underhanded or something. Well, tough. Sometimes to get your way, you needed to play a bit dirty and underhanded to get what you want.

Such thoughts got her daydreaming about a certain Uchiha. Confessions of mutual love. Dating. Kissing. And eventually, marriage and a family.

She giggled happily as she got lost in the daydreaming, her face heated up slightly as she pondered her future life as Mrs. Uchiha. But, eventually, she snapped out of it and focused.

'Gotta get Forehead out of the competition first, then I can focus wholly on wooing Sasuke-kun.'

She arrived over to Naruto's apartment complex that he lived at. The smile on her face slowly receded as she remembered how Naruto came to live in such a place. That was another thing that confused and bothered her. When Sasuke-kun's family was murdered, everybody was mortified, so remorseful and sympathetic to the young Clan Heir. But not even a couple of years later, when Naruto's own family was murdered, the reaction was... silence. Nothing. It was almost like no one cared about it.

She even grimly remembered a few people were also celebrating. What the hell is wrong with those people? How could somebody celebrate the murder of an entire family?

She stared at the apartment complex. It wasn't the prettiest building, having seen better days. It was four stories tall and motley gray color, with a bit of a rundown look to it. Made sense, as this district, Kota, was one of the poorer if not poorest subdivisions within Konoha. Back during the Great War, Konoha had been attacked by the Kyuubi, then struck again by the Hidden Sound Village not even a year later, leaving most of the village in ruins. Many of the pristine homes and clan compounds had been devastated. This apartment complex and its half-dozen carbon copies around it were initially built as a quick, cheap, temporary solution to a sudden housing crisis. But as the years dragged on, properties changed owners, and the economy fluctuated back and forth, these temporary housing centers ended up becoming permanent. Konoha's little mini-ghetto. While crime had always been low in the Hidden Leaf, Kota District had the highest crime rate out of all the districts. She never could understand how Naruto could have ended up living in such a place.

'Maybe he didn't have a choice?' Ino thought as she climbed up the stairs to reach Naruto's room. Third Floor. Room 304.

She'd been here a few times but tried to keep the visits as few as possible. She hated coming to this district. Reaching his door, she started to knock on it, before noticing something. The door was cracked open.

Broken open.

Ino swallowed a breath, panic entering her mind. Someone had broken into Naruto's home. Were they still there? Was Naruto okay? Ino wanted to run, fearing that if the burglar was still in there, they could very well hurt her if so desired. She was a Kunoichi in training, yes, but she had little taijutsu skill, let alone experience. Despite her fears, she couldn't for the life of her will herself to turn and flee. Naruto could be in there hurt or... or...

Mustering every bit of courage she had, she slowly opened the door. Ino released a breath she hadn't realize she'd been holding when she saw nobody was there.

Naruto's room was ransacked. His bed was torn and ruined; sheets ripped apart. Boxes and clothes were thrown about everywhere. And Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Had he been inside, or was he out running about? Kami forbid, he hadn't been kidnapped or something, had he?

She needed to report this. Naruto could be in trouble.

She made her way down the stairs and ran to the nearest police unit or shinobi she could find.

 _ **Approx. 45 minutes later  
**_ _ **Police Station**_

Ino sat nervously, fidgeting in her chair as she sat across from a Jonin Shinobi, with a couple of the ANBU members. She wasn't used to being in front of ANBU agents, and frankly, their presence scared the hell out of her.

"Ino-san, before we begin I want to thank you for coming forward with this. You did the right thing reporting this." The Jounin was a fairly young man who, interestingly enough, had spiky gray hair, had half of his face covered with a mask, and wore his Shinobi Headband over one of his eyes. He noticed her looking at the ANBU and quickly assured her, "Don't worry about them. They're just here as witnesses, you could say. The moment we finish up here, we'll be making our report to our superiors."

That relaxed her, a little. Ino nodded, as the Jonin asked, "Alright, Ino. Go ahead and describe what happened and everything you saw."

That hadn't been difficult at all. Along with their mind walking technique, the Yamanaka Clan were well known for having excellent memory recollection, which made them all the more valued by Konoha's Interrogation and Intelligence Units. Ino recalled everything she did, from going on to her lunch break to the very moment she opened Naruto's apartment door and explored Naruto's ransacked apartment.

The whole time she was talking, the Jonin was silently writing and taking notes. When she finished retelling the incident, the Jounin asked, "And when was the last time you saw Naruto?"

"Two days ago, when we got out of school. We walked together to my clan's flower shop and chatted with my mom for a little bit. I didn't stay for the whole thing; I know mom talked with him for a bit." Ino answered. The Jounin nodded, "I see. And has anyone in your family seen him since the 22nd?"

Ino shook her head, "Not that I'm aware of. Why? Is Naruto okay?"

"We have Shinobi out looking for him, but at the moment no one has found him."

Those words seemed to echo in her head, filling her with dread. They couldn't find Naruto? Had something happened to him? Was he okay?! She wasn't best friends with him or anything, but that didn't mean she wanted him getting hurt or kidnapped. Who would do such a thing?

"What's going to happen?"

"I can't go into too many details, I'm afraid. Right now, we're still not certain if Naruto has truly been taken out of the village or if he's merely walking about. But we'll get to the bottom of this, I promise." The Jounin reassured, "That's all I need from you, Ino. Thank you."

The Yamanaka Heiress, still uncertain and worried sick, hesitantly rose up, but the Jounin said one last thing, "Also, it would be greatly appreciated if you could keep this quiet for now, on the off chance Naruto was just outside his home. No need to get the public freaking out about a kidnapping if it ends up being over nothing, right?"

Ino nodded slightly, and one of the ANBU escorted her out of the room, leaving the Shinobi Jounin and the other ANBU member alone in the room.

The Jounin was first to speak, "Has there been any sighting of him, yet?"

"No, Kakashi-sama. Our ANBU Agents have scoured over half the village, including the areas he's been known to frequent but there hasn't been any sign of him."

"Dammit." Hatake Kakashi muttered, before speaking up again, "I'll report this to the Hokage. I think we have enough evidence for it to be necessary. Go ahead and have a retrieval team assembled, Tenzō. With the way this is turning out, we're probably going to need it."

"Understood, Kakashi-sama." The ANBU agent, Tenzō, answered before shushining away, leaving the man infamously known as the 'Copy-cat Ninja' alone in the room.

'Hopefully, we're not too late.' He grimly thought.

 _ **1241 PM  
**_ _ **Hokage Mansion**_

Kakashi finished giving his report, his body tense. He usually hated providing such reports, being the laid back person he was, but today was an emergency.

At the moment, there were only two people in the room. An elderly man sat behind a massive table in front of Kakashi, 68 years old with tanned skin, grey hair and beard, and a worn, wrinkled face. He wore the attire of the Hokage, and though he was well past his prime, he was still regarded as one of the greatest shinobi still living. Known around the Elemental Nations as 'The Professor,' Sarutobi Hiruzen, the 3rd Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, had said nothing during the entirety of Kakashi's report, letting the information sink in.

As the Jounin finished his report, the old Hokage closed his eyes, sighing deeply as he rubbed his temple. 'Naruto-kun, my boy. What have you done?'

Opening his eyes back up, "How much of the village has been scouted as of now, Kakashi-san?"

"I've been keeping in touch with the search teams. So far almost three quarters have been searched."

"And still no sign of him?"

"None, Lord Hokage."

"Do you believe he's still in the village?"

"My lord, from what little evidence we've managed to gather from his apartment, Naruto hasn't been home for at least a few days. We've already managed to finger ID and track down the one responsible for the break-in. A small-time amateur burglar, with no previous history of contact with Naruto. During our interrogation of him, he swore up and down that no one had been in the room when he got there. And we still haven't spotted him after searching almost three-quarters of the village. So at this point, he'd have to be either hiding out in the nearby training grounds and surrounding woods, or he's not in the village. I know he has a knack for disappearing and hiding from even ANBU, Lord Hokage, but I'm certain that we would have found him by now if he was still in the village." Kakashi explained.

"Hmm." Hiruzen took a drag from his smoking pipe as he thought, 'So at this point, we have to assume that Naruto-kun has left the village. My only question is how did he do it without anyone spotting him?'

Hiruzen knew the boy had plenty of reasons for wanting to leave and more than justifiable. Naruto's life has been one of constant misery and neglect, save for a small reprieve in the form of an adoption by a loving family, only to have it torn violently away from him. But, Hiruzen had always held out hope that Naruto would persevere and manage to overcome the adversities thrown at him. If he had never admitted to Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki, then maybe, just maybe...

No. People had already grown suspicion by the time he got around to admitting it. It would have changed nothing in the long run. Making sure it was forbidden to speak of had managed to help some, it kept the younger generation from learning the truth and gave Naruto at least a chance to make some friends, but he had always known that it would only serve as a half-measure. Life, it seemed, was determined to see Naruto suffer for a burden he never had a say in.

Coming out of his thoughts, Hiruzen spoke, "I suppose we will have to assume that Naruto has left the Hidden Leaf and assemble a retrieval team to go track him down. Luckily for us, I happen to know just the technique to help us find him." He then pulled out a crystal ball and sat it on the table in front of him.

"Ah. Am I going to get to see the Telescope Technique in action?" Kakashi asked, partly joking as he walked closer to the table to watch. The Telescope Technique was a very useful A-Ranked Jutsu to know for intelligence purposes, but it had its drawbacks. The justu can be used to track a particular individual over incredibly long distances, but the problem was that the caster has to know the individual's chakra pattern. Lucky for them, Hiruzen knew Naruto's chakra pattern well, from all of his interactions with the boy.

Performing the necessary handsigns, Hiruzen gazed into the crystal ball to see. After a couple of seconds, an image appeared, showing Naruto on a boat moving away from some small coastal village. The two shinobi noticed two things immediately. The first was that Naruto had a katana on his hip, a particular katana that both of the two shinobi knew very well. The second thing they noticed was that Naruto wasn't alone, as a massive being was in the boat with him piloting it.

A being they knew all too well.

"Good Kami..." Hiruzen muttered, "So you came back."

'When did you learn he was still alive, Dekar 'Nythrus? A couple of years, maybe? Was it right after Naruto's family was murdered, or was it just recently?' The Third Hokage pondered. The Reaper. Once an ally of the Uzumaki Clan when there still was one, he had been the one who'd brought Naruto's mother, Kushina, to the village when her home was destroyed, only to run off and go hunt after the ones responsible. Then, he came back years later and chose to stay, looking after Kushina in the wake of the Kyuubi attack and her husband's death.

Then... the night Kushina died... He remembered witnessing something he'd never thought he would have seen. A half dozen corpses, all wearing that same weird black cloak with red clouds on it, lay strewed about. All of them sliced or maimed. And in the middle of it all was an alien warrior, one from a species long portrayed by the United Dominion as genocidal monsters hellbent on humanity's extinction, weeping and cradling the body of the very thing he supposedly wanted to kill.

He hadn't seen a genocidal monster that night. All he had seen was a broken man grieving at the loss of perhaps the only person left he could still call family.

It had made lying to the distraught warrior about Naruto's fate all the more grueling and distasteful in his eyes. But, unfortunately, a necessary decision. Dekar would have most certainly tried to take Naruto out of the village had he learned he was still alive and that the people had learned of both his existence and his status as a Jinchuuriki. That was something he couldn't have allowed. Naruto, despite Hiruzen's best attempts to try and give him a normal life, was at the end of the day a Jinchuuriki and one of Konoha's vital assets. They couldn't afford to have the village without one of it's best deterrents. And so, with much disdain for himself, he lied to a broken man and told him that not only was the only person left in his life gone, but so was her child. The infant's body burnt to ashes in a fire started by the attackers.

It had worked, the terror of the Elemental Nations, who had hunted and battled for nearly a century, left Konoha with barely a word, taking both the swords and Kushina's body to be buried somewhere. Hiruzen never did find out where Dekar had buried Kushina's body.

"Well, this complicates things," Kakashi commented, snapping the elderly Hokage out of his memories. Hiruzen nodded in agreement, "Indeed. I'm not familiar with the town they're leaving, but I know the area they're in. They're in the Rokkaku Province, on the eastern coast of the country. I have a feeling I know where the Reaper is taking Naruto. Kakashi-san, I want you to take a retrieval team and try to bring Naruto back, immediately."

"I know the town they're leaving right now. They're in Matsukawa. It's a tiny settlement with maybe 500 people living in it. I can get a team there in 2 days if we're quick. What about... his traveling companion?" Kakashi asked. Even with such an impressive speed, that was still giving Naruto a two-day head start to go wherever he wished. If he was trying to head to the Dominion, then they could already be too late.

"... Try to avoid a fight. Even if he has no love for the Hidden Leaf, the Reaper has never taken hostile action against us, either. Let's not give him a reason to do so. If we can resolve this peacefully and without incident, then I'll be a happy Kage." Hiruzen answered. He hoped he was right about where Dekar was taking Naruto. If he was wrong, and it ended up being that Dekar was taking him to the Dominion or to a far-away land, then only trouble would come of it.

"And if he decides not to be peaceful, Lord Hokage?" Kakashi inquired, arching an eyebrow.

Hiruzen sighed, "I would prefer if we kept it civil. But if there is no other choice, then do what you must. Disable him or kill him. But Naruto needs to be brought home."

"Understood, Lord Hokage. I'll have my team ready to leave within the hour." Kakashi replied. When the Hokage motioned for him to be dismissed, the Copy-cat Ninja disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the elderly kage alone with thoughts.

'Naruto-kun... I've done all I could to help you over the years. I wish I could have done more for you, but I swear I did my best to protect you and help you. But now, I'm not sure I can protect you from the Council if they ever find out.'

 _ **Roughly 30 minutes later...**_

Kakashi had his team assembled in front of the Hokage, with him acting as team leader. Alongside him were three other shinobi, each of them High A-Ranked individuals like himself and some of the best the Hidden Leaf had to offer.

Hatake Kakashi was a renown Jōnin shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, often known as the 'Copycat Ninja' due to him possessing the Sharingan, the Uchiha Clan's signature Bloodline Ability. Standing 5'11", with spiky silver hair and a dark grey eye, his left one being hidden by his headband since it held the Sharingan. He was wearing the typical uniform of a Jōnin, dark pants and a dark, long-sleeve shirt with a flak jacket over top of it. His abilities, coupled along with his Sharingan, made him a formidable opponent to battle. Hopefully, this along with the rest of the team layout would hopefully be enough to stand toe to toe to one of the most dangerous combatants on the planet, should the need arise.

Tenzō, an ANBU Agent who had an intriguing background, was to the right of Kakashi. Standing 5'10", wearing the standard ANBU uniform with a ninjatō on his back; green and red cat mask covering his face. Tenzō was a part of one of Orochimaru's experiments to try and infuse the DNA of the First Hokage into a group of infants with the hope that they could replicate the First Hokage's ability to use Wood Release. Out of the sixty infants used, only Tenzō survived the experiment, though Orochimaru was unable to learn the results as his crimes were quickly discovered and he was forced to flee Konoha soon after. Tenzō was then taken in by Danzo and his ROOT, training the boy into becoming an incredibly strong shinobi for Konoha before he eventually left ROOT with help from Kakashi and the Lord Third. Over time, it was learned that not only did Tenzō acquire the Wood Release of the First Hokage, but he had also gained the First's ability to control Tailed Beasts to a degree. This alone makes him invaluable should they need to subdue Naruto for any reason. His Kekkei Genkai would also make him extremely useful should the need to battle the Reaper be required.

Inuzuka Tsume, a Tokubetsu Jōnin, Clan Head of the Inuzuka Clan, with her trusty ninken, Kuromaru, by her side in the middle. She stood about 5'4", with long, spiky brown hair and brown slit-like eye pupils. She had the typical red clan fang markings on her cheeks and wore the standard uniform of a Jōnin, flak jacket and all. Being from the Inuzuka Clan, the Clan Matriarch was a master of tracking individuals over vast distances and with her ninken supporting her, would make her invaluable in tracking down where Naruto had gone, even if he was hundreds of miles away. She was also a great close quarters fighter, which would be invaluable in battling the Reaper should it come to that.

The last one of the team was Sarutobi Asuma. A Jōnin, the Third Hokage's son, and considered the best melee fighter in the Hidden Leaf, standing on the left side of the group, cigarette in mouth. Standing almost 6'3", and also wearing the standard Jōnin uniform as Tsume and Kakashi were. With his special Chakra Blades, which were designed with a unique metal that allow chakra to infused into them, he was lethal in close-quarters combat. Something that would be needed against an individual considered by many to be one of the most dangerous close-quarter combatants on the whole planet.

"Lord Hokage, my team, is assembled and ready to leave," Kakashi reported.

The Third nodded, "Very good. You all understand why you've been summoned?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Tsume answered, followed by silent nods from both of her teammates.

"Then you understand the severity of this assignment. This is an S-Ranked Mission, and not because of who you're trying to retrieve." Hiruzen explained, bringing his hands together on the desk, "I'm not sure if you've been told yet or not by Tenzō, but I'll go ahead and say it. The main reason this is an S-Rank Mission is that Uzumaki Naruto is traveling in the company of the Reaper."

Tsume's eyes widened slightly, while Asuma merely groaned, "Good Kami. The Reaper? How the hell did that happen?"

Hiruzen looked at his son and sighed. It was understandable that his son would ask that. Most weren't aware of the connection between Naruto and Kushina, let alone the fact that he's in fact Namikaze Minato's son. A closely guarded secret that had been meant to protect Naruto from those looking to seek revenge against the Fourth Hokage.

"I can't tell you why exactly, son. The reason is classified and was made forbidden to speak about. All I can tell you is that there's a connection between Naruto and the Reaper. Now, the Reaper has never been hostile towards Konoha, but regardless, whatever he has planned simply cannot be allowed. Naruto belongs in Konoha. Therefore, you are to return him here to the village no matter what." Hiruzen instructed.

"And if we find ourselves fighting the Reaper, Lord Hokage?" Tenzō asked.

"I would prefer we tried to avoid a fight and try to be diplomatic. The Reaper is a dangerous warrior, one with the skills to back up his reputation, but he's also known to be reasonable. You are some of the best fighters in the village, but the Reaper has killed Kages with nothing but a sword. Fighting should be only used as a last resort, in which case you are to do your best to either disable or kill the Reaper." The Hokage ordered, which the team acknowledged. Though the Reaper had been incredibly helpful to the Elemental Nations over the decades, killing countless bandits and missing-nin, he was still a wanted man by many, with a bounty on his head for 500,000,000 Ryu dead, since the Reaper would never let himself be captured, but few were insane enough to try and collect that bounty. Plus, he had kidnapped a Konoha shinobi-in-training and one of the village's most important assets. This couldn't be overlooked, especially if the rest of the council found out.

"The last thing to add is that under no circumstances are you to speak of this manner to anyone. This assignment never happened. Naruto never defected or fled from the village. If the council found out, they'd have a field day and demand his execution in a heartbeat." the Kage added.

"Lord Kage, with all due respect, but what if Uzumaki wasn't taken from the village and left willingly? Wouldn't that classify him as a missing-nin?" Tsume inquired, arching an eyebrow. She wasn't sure what to think of the boy. She knew about his... tenant, all the clan heads did, but she wasn't sure what to think about him. The Inuzuka Clan had managed to weather the Kyuubi Attack reasonably well, not even losing a dozen members in the attack out of a clan that numbered some 200. The boy was considered mainly trouble and a menace by most, but she believed in judging other from her views and observations, rather than those of others. The problem was that as Clan Head she didn't have time to go and do something so trivial, and Kiba, her son and the only one in the Inuzuka even around Naruto, didn't interact with him.

"There's no sense jumping to conclusions at the moment. For now, focus on retrieving Naruto and bringing him back to Konoha. Then, we can worry about the whats and the whys." Hiruzen replied. Tsume wasn't pleased with the answer, but said nothing and nodded. "That's all I have for you. Dismissed."

The four shinobi disappeared in puffs of smoke, leaving the Kage alone in the room to dwell on his thoughts. But barely a couple of minutes passed before his intercom buzzed to life as an intern spoke, 'Lord Hokage. Yamanaka Inoichi is requesting to see you. He claims it's urgent.'

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed, having a good idea as to what it was. Regardless, he answered, "Send him in, please."

The door opened to reveal a 5'11" man with spiky, ash-blonde hair cropped up into a ponytail with blue-green eyes and a well-defined jawline. He wore a grey long-sleeve shirt and pants, the standard uniform of Konoha's Intelligence Division, with a black overcoat on top. He marched to the desk with purpose, stopping to bow and speak, "Lord Hokage."

"Inoichi-san. What can I do for you today?"

"Lord Hokage, I was just informed of something that concerned me and came to you for clarification," Inoichi responded.

'It appears young Ino-chan told her father about Naruto's disappearance.' The old Kage concluded. It was a reasonable thing to do. Yamanaka Inoichi was one of the leading figures in the Intelligence Division, being head of the Analysis Team, and had been since the Great War. He was widely regarded as one of the best if not the best intelligence gatherer Konoha had available, aside from perhaps Jiraiya's vast spy network. And considering the... relationship of the Yamanaka Family to the young Jinchuuriki (A relationship whose depths weren't known to even Ino or most of Konoha, save for a few.), it only made sense the young heiress would inform her father.

"I'm afraid that what you've heard is true. Naruto appears to have been taken out of the village either by force or his own free will." Hiruzen confirmed, crossing his hands on the table as a small puff of smoke rose from his pipe.

Inoichi, to his credit, didn't show any visible sign of anger or distress. Instead, he merely responded, "Lord Kage, I request permission to be a part of the team sent to retrieve him."

"No."

"What? My Lord, why? Out of anyone in the village-" Inoichi began but was cut off by the Kage, "Inoichi-san, you're not even aware of who has taken Naruto. And as I said, it's entirely possible that Naruto left of his own free will."

"Who took him, then?"

"Dekar 'Nythrus."

The atmosphere in the room seemed to change at the mention of the Reaper, with both men very acquainted with the legendary warrior. Inoichi already concluded several reasons as to why Dekar would take Naruto out of the village, but the question remained as to how long Dekar had known of Naruto's survival. Lying to the Reaper about Naruto's death the night the boy's mother died... He had never agreed with the decision. With Kushina's death and the revelation of the boy's Jinchuuriki status, Naruto had quickly been put in extreme danger in a village looking for blood, with anyone who had any sympathy or willingness to take the boy in being... 'discouraged' through various means. Blackmail and threats, usually. Not just his Jinchuuriki status, but his very heritage and bloodline made him numerous enemies amongst both the civilians and shinobi populace.

Inoichi involuntarily winced as some of the more painful memories of the past came back, suppressing the urge to grit his teeth.

 **"You have such a lovely young daughter, Inoichi-sama. It would be such a tragedy for something to happen to her. Don't you agree?"**

 **"Either lose the boy or lose your daughter, Inoichi. The choice is yours."**

Casting the memories aside, Inoichi took a deep breath then spoke again, "My lord, allow me to accompany the retrieval team. If anyone has a chance of convincing Naruto to come home, it would be either myself or my wife."

"Inoichi-"

"He trusts me. And for a good reason. If the Reaper was the one who took Naruto out of the village, then I'm certain he wasn't forced to leave. By now, Dekar has probably earned Naruto's complete trust and loyalty. Anyone else you send will be met with hostility and suspicion. I'm your best hope for convincing Naruto to come home without any violence." Inoichi continued, pleading his case to his Kage. The Yamanaka Family was probably one of only a handful of people that Naruto trusted, and only such trust would be able to work against someone like the Reaper. By now, Dekar has more than likely told Naruto all about his connection and history with the Uzumaki Clan, and of his parents, and of his own history with the dead clan. If they wanted any chance of convincing Naruto to return home, they would need him to come with. Otherwise, they were going to need a small army of shinobi to do battle with the most dangerous swordsman on Shensei.

Many of whom wouldn't be returning home or would be missing limbs.

Hiruzen sighed, knowing that Inoichi would fight him tooth and nail on this. But the team had already been sent out, and he already had a Clan head and a future clan head assigned to the mission. He couldn't dare risk three clan heads going after the most dangerous swordsman on the planet. Regardless if this was their job or not, this mission was supposed to be unofficial, and if the mission failed, the team killed, and the Council learns of it all, he did not doubt in his mind there would be demands for him to step down. Something he knew Danzo would be all too happy to use to try and become Hokage himself.

But the Reaper was a combatant you sent the Three Legendary Sannin after, not a single squad of A-Ranked Shinobi.

But he didn't have the Sannin to call on, with Orochimaru having defected long ago to form his twisted version of a hidden village and determined to destroy Konoha. Senju Tsunade left the village following her fiance and Kushina's deaths, drifting from town to town. And Jiraiya was out maintaining and overseeing his massive spy network for Konoha. Might Gai would have been another great choice, too, given his superb skill in Taijutsu, but he was off on a mission with his genin team in New Tripoli. And Hiruzen wasn't sending a group of genin to go confront the Reaper.

The best he could call on at the moment had just been sent out of the village.

"My lord?" Hiruzen's focus was brought back on the Yamanaka Clan Head before him, "If you need any further proof that I should go, then I've already deduced where Dekar is planning to go with Naruto."

"I have my suspicions, too, especially after using the Telescope Technique to see where Naruto was. But, by all means, tell me your thoughts, Inoichi-san." Hiruzen offered.

"Uzushiogakure. He'll take Naruto to Uzushiogakure. More than likely to look for any hidden vaults that the Uzumaki Clan left behind to provide Naruto with scrolls to either train or prove his heritage. He'll also probably try to train Naruto in some of the Uzumaki Arts before moving on with him." Inoichi replied.

"Hmm." Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, "It looks like we did come to the same conclusion."

Inoichi seemed disappointed but said nothing to this. 'I'm the Hokage for a reason, Inoichi. Did you honestly think I couldn't have reached a similar conclusion on my own? I may be old, but my mind is still sharp as ever. I haven't gone senile, yet.' Hiruzen thought with mild amusement.

Still, Inoichi had brought up several good points. If Dekar was involved, then Naruto more than likely left the village of his own free will. And only someone he trusted deeply could convince him to return without incident. Anyone else sent would probably be met with suspicion and hostility from Naruto.

But to have three Clan Heads being sent after the Reaper...

After several moments of silently debating, the Third Hokage made his decision. With a defeated sigh, Hiruzen spoke, "Are you ready to travel this instant?"

"My wife and daughter are packing a small provision right now. They'll be done by the time I reach the compound. Then I can leave immediately."

"Then I hope you can travel quickly, Inoichi-san. I'm not ordering the retrieval squad to stop, so it'll be up to you to catch up with them." Hiruzen ordered, before motioning for him to leave, "Go, Inoichi. Don't make me regret sending out three clan heads."

Inoichi bowed in thanks and quickly shushined out of the room. The old Kage merely leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling as he pondered over everything that's just happened.

'Please, Kami. Don't let this come back to haunt us.' Hiruzen pleaded mentally, 'That boy has been through enough as it is, and I'm not sure how much more he can handle.'

Looking back down at his desk, he pulled out an empty scroll and began writing out a message.

 _/Jiraiya,_

 _I need you to use your spy network on an important assignment that will be explained in detail in this message. Afterward, I need you to return home immediately. And no excuses this time.\_

 _ **7 minutes later...  
**_ _ **Yamanaka Clan Compound**_

Yamanaka Inoichi came barreling through the front entrance of his compound, sweating slightly from how fast he had leaped and run home, usually taking 20-minutes of travel and completing it in less than half the time. Might Gai would have been proud.

"Nozomi. Ino." He called out, "Where are you? I need to leave, now."

Nozomi came running down the stairs, two scrolls in her hands as she ran up to her husband. He could see her eyes were red and puffed, no doubt having been crying after learning that Naruto had possibly gone missing. She had always been much closer to the young Jinchuuriki than he had, but he had been fond of the boy regardless.

"What did they say? Inoichi, what did they say?" Nozomi pleaded, her eyes anxiously looking to him as she awaited his answer.

"Dear-" Inoichi tried to calm her, but she wasn't having it.

"Don't 'Dear' me! Where is Naruto?! What did they tell you?!"

Inoichi sighed, before answering, "They confirmed that he left the village. From the looks of it, he's been gone for a few days a most. They've already assembled a team to go bring him back, and I'm going with him." Nozomi felt herself go weak in the knees as Inoichi broke the news to her, with her husband grabbing her as she lost strength. Naruto had left the village. He was gone.

Her nephew was gone.

Yamanaka Nozomi, once Namikaze Nozomi and younger sister of the late 4th Hokage, felt the tears coming back in her eyes as she processed the information. Inoichi tried to console her, but at the same time, he couldn't stay. He needed to go if he still wanted to be on this mission. "Nozomi, I need to go now. I can't stay."

"B-bring him home."

"I will," Inoichi replied, giving his wife a kiss before continuing, "I promise, I will bring him home. I love you."

He took the two scrolls from his wife and placed them inside his jacket. Giving her one last small kiss on the cheek and words of encouragement, he started making his way out the door, before another voice stopped him. "Daddy?"

He turned around to see his only child, Ino, staring at him in concern. He gave her a soft, reassuring smile, "Hello, sweetheart. I can't stay; unfortunately, I'm in a bit of a rush."

"Is... Naruto going to be okay?" She asked, looking uncertain.

"He's going to be fine sweetie, I promise. It turns out he's gone out of the village, but I'm going to get him and bring him home. Okay?" Inoichi tried to reassure, trying to hurry out the door. As much as he didn't like leaving his two precious girls distraught, he couldn't stay.

"Why did he leave?"

"Ino-"

"Does it have to do with why all the grown-ups hate him?"

That had stopped him dead in his tracks. His daughter might not take her academy schooling as seriously as he would like, but like both of her parents, Ino was actually very smart and very observant. She had asked why Naruto was hated beforehand, but they were forbidden to tell her anything. She didn't even know they were cousins. (Naruto didn't know anything, either. At least, Inoichi didn't think so, unless Dekar has told him.) There were many things she didn't know about, and he hated keeping such things from both her and Naruto. But he didn't have a choice.

With a sigh, Inoichi replied, "Ino, there's... there's so much you don't know about. About both yourself and Naruto. And one day, I promise, we are all going to sit down and discuss it all, but for now, I need you just to trust me and believe when I say that there are reasons why we can't tell you. Okay?"

Ino's eyes narrowed in confusion, wondering what her father had meant by that. What did her father mean by that? Why was Naruto's disappearance seem to be such a big deal to Konoha's leadership? She had dozens of questions in her head, but she trusted her father. So, despite the uncertainty of the whole situation, Ino nodded and replied, "Okay... Be safe, daddy."

"I will, sweetie. I love you." Inoichi replied, before disappearing through the doors and off towards the main gates. He needed to move quickly if he wanted to catch up with the retrieval team.

 _ **Meanwhile...  
**_ _ **Otherside of Konoha**_

She walked down the street with a somber look on her face and a box filled with brand new kunai in her hands. She'd gotten rejected. Again. Why didn't Sasuke want her?

"What am I doing wrong?" Haruno Sakura, 12-year-old Kunoichi-in-training and number one female rookie in the academy, asked quietly to herself.

Standing at roughly 4'10", and weighing not even 80 pounds, the petite, fair-skin academy student had bright emerald-colored eyes and long, light pink hair that reached her mid back that was pulled back. Her hair alone made her stand out in a crowd, if her broad forehead she always tried to cover up with bangs, didn't do it already. She was wearing a bright red dress with white lining the edges of the dress. She thought it had looked excellent, but Sasuke didn't even mention it.

She thought her plan today was a great one. Sasuke had always been proficient with throwing kunai. 'Of course, he is. He's great at everything he does.' But she had noticed that his personal set of kunai seemed to be getting dull and worn down. A kunai in such condition was usually better off being replaced and scrapped than trying to resharpen them since due to their small size they could only be resharpened a couple of times before they became too thin and brittle to use. So, Sakura had the idea of buying him a new set to use, so he didn't have to worry about his tools breaking down.

She came to his house to give them to him, but when she got there, she caught Sasuke walking into his house with a similar box. She had hoped it was just a coincidence and offered her gift to him anyway. It turned out that the box had been full of new kunai. Still, Sakura hoped she could provide them as an extra set to have. But, as usual, he shot her down.

Leaving her with a box full of weapons, a lighter purse, and hurt feelings.

She was never proficient with kunai. Not, in the same way, as Sasuke was. Of course, he was a natural at everything involving shinobi arts, so that shouldn't be a surprise. Sure she could train with them, but they were supposed to be a gift. She felt odd about using someone's gift.

Sakura made her way home, coming to a stop in front of a small two-story house that she called home. The Haruno Clan had never been massive, nor had it been a Shinobi Clan, instead specializing in merchants and trade. In fact, her parents had been the first in the clan to actually become shinobi for many years. She'd never known her father or grandparents, all of them dying in the Kyuubi Attack when she was just an infant.

She entered her home, walking past a large couch that had someone sprawled out on it playing a video game on the living room television.

"Hey, sis." She heard the couch potato greet her, not even bothering to look up at Sakura from her spot on the couch.

"Hey, Sayuki." Sakura greeted her twin sister, setting the box on the kitchen table, next to the vase of flowers she had bought earlier for her mom before walking back over to her sister. Sayuki, unlike her twin sister, had her hair cut down to about shoulder length with a pair of green highlights in her hair on either side of her face. Currently, she was lounged out on the couch in her pajamas playing a video game. And also unlike Sakura, who was relatively lean and petite in her body build thanks to a rigorous diet, Sayuki looked more like their mother or Ino in appearance, with a much curvier and busty figure compared to her sister. This had irked Sakura to no end. Here she was, trying to stay in top shape and watch her figure so she would still look good for Sasuke-kun, and yet somehow her sister, who does nothing to watch her eating and barely exercises aside from her fingers, still manages to somehow look better than her.

'Stupid couch potato! All that food just goes to her boobs and her waist!' Sakura thought.

'CHA! WE SHOULD STEAL ALL HER LITTLE SNACKS FROM THE FRIDGE AND HIDE THEM! THAT'LL SHOW HER!' Inner shouted.

'Nah... She'd just go buy more after she gets done yelling at us.' Sakura thought bitterly. Another thing about Sayuki was that she didn't get worked up as easily as her, having a more laid-back ('More like lazy!') personality as opposed to Sakura. Sakura swore that if she hadn't known any better, Sayuki was Shikamaru's sister and not hers. The only difference being she didn't sleep for half the day and talk about how doing... well, anything, was 'a drag.'

"What 'cha up to?" Sayuki asked, her concentration solely on the goofy looking racing game she was- wait a minute.

"Nothing just got home. Hey, is that the new Mario Cart game?" Sakura asked, propping her arms on the couch as she watched her sister play, driving as Toad.

"Yep! Just came out a week ago!" her sister said happily, before saying into her headset, "Sure, Ali-chan. Keep telling yourself that. We all know you're gonna bomb the race at the end!"

Just like certain technologies that refuse to go away as Earth's civilization continued to develop and advance, in spite of newer and better technology available meant to replace it, like paper, cameras, and wind turbines, Mario was the definitive gaming series that just refused to stay dead. Throughout its entire history since the release of 'Donkey Kong' in 1981 and 'Mario Bros.' in 1983, the gaming series had gone through several periods of where it would disappear for a decade or two or even three, only to come back swinging when a new game was released, bringing the gaming series back into the spotlight. The series' success was largely due to how simple the game's control and gameplay was, not to mention it being marketed towards children to play. When it had been introduced to Shensei, it quickly became one of the fastest selling products in the planet's history as millions of children around the planet were introduced to a timeless video game classic. Even the Hidden Villages hadn't been safe from the influence of Mario, with some joking that 'this stupid video game has done what the modern weapons of the Terrans couldn't do. Conquer the Hidden Villages. Our kids and genin just won't stop playing it.'

Sayuki giggled as she heard her friend stammer back, _'S-Shut up, you! I've totally got it this time, Sayuki-chan! We all know how amazing I am at this game, so don't even try to freaking jinx me!'_

 _'Haha! Amazing? Sure, Al. You always say that you've got the match whenever you manage to stumble into third or second, but low and behold-'_

 _'SHUT UP, MEL-CHAN! I DON'T STUMBLE INTO THIRD-'_

 _'Hey, Al. Speaking of bombs-'_

 _'Wha-... NO, TEM-CHAN, NOOO!'_

 _'-catch!'_

Boom.

 _'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! YOU BITCH!'_ Sayuki and her friends started busting out laughing at their friend 'Al-chan' who, if Sakura had to guess was the one driving as Bowser, just got hit by a well-thrown 'bob-omb' from 'Tem-chan,' who was driving as Rosalina, and promptly got knocked out of first place just as the cars rounded the last corner before the finish line, resulting in Tem-chan winning first place, Sayuki second, Meli-chan in sixth and Al-chan all the way in tenth. Second to last.

"She doesn't learn," Sakura said as she shook her head, having seen this happen more than enough times from watching Sayuki play. Al-chan just can never seem to get better at Mario Kart. (Or, Mario games period. Which was the most absurd thing she's ever seen, because every other game Sakura has watched Sayuki play with Al-chan, Al completely dominates the game.)

"Nope." Sayuki wheezed out, "She should know how accurate Tem-chan is by now."

 _'TEM-CHAN, YOU SONOFABITCH! DAMN YOU AND YOUR FUCKING BOB-OMBS!'_ Al-chan sobbed in the headset, _'I ALMOST HAD IIIITT!'_

 _'AHAHAHA! And tha-that's why I had to step in. The universe was out of balance with you about to win, so we needed to fix it-'_

 _'UP YOURS, THE UNIVERSE WAS OUTTA BALANCE! DIDN'T REALIZE I WAS RACING AGAINST FREAKING LITTLE MISS THANOS OVER HERE!'_

"Hey, you winning first or even second place... it just doesn't feel right." Sayuki joined in, adding fuel to the fire, "She's just making sure things are back to normal!"

 _'SAKURA! Are you there? Please beat up your sister for me!'_

"Hey, leave my sister outta this, Alice! She doesn't need to do nothing." Sayuki giggled.

Sakura had no plan on getting involved anyway. Though to be fair, Sayuki is kinda asking for it.

"Besides, she's too busy wasting her time trying to woo that one weirdo at the ninja school. She has even worst luck with that then you do with-EEEYYAAAAAAHH! SAKURA! STOP IT! THAT MY EARS! OWOWOWOWOW! IM SORRY, PLEASE STOP! YOU'RE GONNA TEAR 'EM OFF! AAHHHHAAAAA!" Sayuki was now definitely asking for it, as Sakura grabbed her ears and began twisting them. Her sister squealed and fought to escape the grasp of her twin, but thanks to her training in the Ninja Academy, Sakura had always been the stronger of the two and more energetic. Not to mention, her idiot sister shouldn't be so calmly telling other people over the extranet that her sister's a ninja-in-training! (Even if from the sound of it, most of her friends were Terrans.)

She could hear Sayuki's online friends laughing at her plight.

 _'HAHAHAHAHAHA! That's it! Get her Sakura! Put her head in the toilet and give her a wedgie! Tie her up and eat all her snacks in front of her! AHAHAHAHA!'_ Al-chan said happily, followed by laughter from the other two girls.

"What? I'm not-" Sakura started, but stopped and grabbed the headset with one hand to talk into it while keeping her other one on her sobbing sister's ear, "I'm not putting her head in the toilet. That's just gross."

A wedgie on the other hand... No. Even if her nitwit NEET of a sister deserved it, such behavior was beneath her. She was supposed to be the mature one. She had to act like it. Still, tying up her sister and eating some of her snacks in front of her was actually a pretty good idea for payback. She'll make sure to save that little scheme of payback for later use.

 _'Aw, come on. Please. I mean she even made a remark that you were wasting time with whats-his-name. Don't worry, you'll... totally... woo him. Yeah...'_ Al started to say, but as she started mentioning Sakura's chances with Sasuke, she sounded a little uncertain.

"Gee, thanks for the support." Sakura deadpanned.

 _'Oh, come on, Saku-chan.'_ Al responded, _'You and every girl in that town have been chasing this guy for, like, what? Years now? And what do any of you have to show for it? I bet you're little gift today didn't work, either. Did it?'_

"Wha-" Sakura started, realizing that Sayuki had been talking about her sister's love life behind her back. In response, she started twisting Sayuki's ear even harder, earning yelps and pleas from the girl as Sakura bellowed out, "Seriously, Sayuki?! My love life is not for you to talk about with your online friends!"

"So what?! It's not like it isn't true!" Sayuki snapped back, finally twisting out of her sister's grasp and rubbing her ears with a sniffle, "You've wasted so much time chasing after some dumb boy who doesn't show you or anybody the time of day. Honestly, it's getting, like, super pathetic at this point!"

"SCREW YOU! It's not my fault you spend your days doing nothing but playing video games and don't have any boys liking you! Maybe you should try actually going out and interacting with people than just staying cooped up in here all the time!" Sakura snapped back.

"I'd rather stay cooped in my home and have my games and friends than wasting my time chasing some loser whose never reciprocated my feelings!"

"SASUKE-KUN ISN'T A LOSER! HE'S THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AND AN AMAZING SHINOBI!"

 _'Sakura, um... Look. Take it from somebody who is a Kunoichi and has actually graduated from the academy. All those fancy titles like 'Rookie of the Year' and 'Top Academic' mean jack-shit in the real world of Shinobi. A Rogue Ninja isn't gonna care about such things when they face you. I normally stay outta this, 'cause I think that what you do with your love-life is your business, but I have to agree with Al and your sister on this one. You're wasting your time chasing after this guy. Honestly, from everything I've heard, even if only half of it's true, I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out he was... you know, like, 'in the closet' or just outright asexual. I think you just need to move on from him.'_ Tem added in carefully, trying to stay supportive but at the same time trying to get Sakura to see what she thought was the obvious truth. Sasuke just wasn't interested in any of them.

Sakura was about to retort in defense of her true love, and her own love-life, when both the girls had their attention diverted to someone entering the front door.

"Good Kami, what are you two arguing about now?! I could hear you both out in the street!" A middle-aged woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and emerald green eyes said as she walked in with some groceries in hand. Haruno Mebuki, a former Kunoichi and 40-year old mother of Sakura and Sayuki, walked through the living room with a stern look on her face as she eyed her two daughters. Sayuki quickly turned off the gaming system with barely a goodbye to her friends before facing her mother.

Setting the groceries on the kitchen, Mebuki turned around and crossed her arms while staring at her two daughters, "Alright. What are you two arguing about now?"

Sayuki was just going to say that it was over nothing and try to drop the subject there, but Sakura was too livid to let the argument go, "Sayuki was mocking me and Sasuke-kun with her stupid online friends behind my back!" This earned a glare from Sayuki.

Mebuki, upon hearing Sakura, immediately sighed and resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "Oh Kami, not this again." She muttered, hoping her daughter hadn't heard her. Sakura was an exceptionally smart girl, but when it came to Sasuke, she was as unreasonable as all the other little girls that chased him around. And it infuriated her to no end. While she felt horrible about what happened to the poor boy, Sasuke had also been nothing but a major hindrance to Sakura's own growth within the academy. Time she should have been spending improving her physic or her chakra reserves had been wasted on chasing a boy around believing he needed her affection, rather than some severe therapy.

Mebuki started by playing mediator, hoping to ease the tension and calm the two down, "Sweetie, listen. I doubt she meant anything by it."

"She was talking and making fun of me with her friends because I tried to give Sasuke-kun a gift! At least I'm going out and trying to be social, while she sits there on the couch and does nothing all day long!" Sakura angrily snapped.

"I am social! I just don't go outside and do it!" Sayuki shot back, "And I already told you I'd rather have my online friends than run around outside chasing some loser! It's not like mom doesn't think the same way about it!"

'Gee, thanks for throwing me under the wagon, you little jerk.' Mebuki deadpanned, as Sakura gave her a shocked look followed by her angrily looking back at her sister.

"Call Sasuke-kun a loser one more time, Sayuki! See if I don't sock you in the mouth!" Sakura warned, followed by Sayuki snapping back, "Just try it, you scrawny little wannabe ninja! I dare you!"

"ENOUGH!" Mebuki yelled, catching the attention of both girls before they went to blows.

Mebuki glared at both of them as she spoke, "Sayuki. You know better than to antagonize your sister. Stop talking bad about her behind her back. You wouldn't like it if she was doing it to you. And yes, you do spend too much time on those video games! I've been lenient about it up to now, but you need to stop spending so much time on the games and go outside some."

Sayuki pouted as her mother chastised her, with Sakura smirking victoriously beside her. That smirk quickly disappeared when Mebuki addressed her, "And Sakura! You need to quit getting so worked up over a boy. Sasuke isn't perfect, nobody is, and to be perfectly honest, dear, yes I do think you're wasting your time with him." Sakura was shocked by her mother's proclamation. Mebuki inwardly blamed herself for letting it go on for so long. She should have said something sooner but thought it was merely a phase Sakura was going through. (It wasn't like she hadn't crushed or fangirled over boys when she was that age, but she grew out of it.)

"But Mom! I love Sasuke-kun! He needs someone to heal his heart!"

Sayuki made a gagging motion next to her, which earned a glare from Mebuki before she replied, "Sakura, what that boy needs is a lot of therapy and a psyche evaluation. What you think is 'love' isn't going to help him, sweetie. What all do you even know about him on a personal level? And I'm not talking about what you've heard from everyone else. Hobbies? Hopes? Dreams? What he likes to do for a past time?" Mebuki waited a moment to see if Sakura would answer. When she was silent, Mebuki continued, "This crush you have on that boy is just that. A crush."

"That's not true! I do love him! Honest!" Sakura argued.

"Sakura, you're a 12-year-old girl. You don't know the first thing about actual love, honey. Believe me, I know what you're going through right now. I use to be your age and naive, once." Mebuki tried to reason.

Sakura, unfortunately, wasn't going to be reasonable. "You're both wrong!" She snapped, "I do love him! And I'm going to end up marrying him! Just you wait and see!" With that, she angrily ran up the stairs to her room, slamming the door shut behind it. Mebuki merely sighed at her daughter's behavior, knowing she was partially at fault for it. She could only hope that her daughter would eventually come to her senses and get over the Uchiha Heir. In truth, she really didn't want her daughter having anything to do with Sasuke. The boy was clearly... unwell, to put it politely. And she doubted any relationship would be joyous and filled with happiness. More than likely, any girl who ended up as his wife would be nothing more than a baby-making factory, popping out as many Uchiha kids for a cold and distant husband. She has known more than her fair share of Uchiha in her life to know how most of them were like, even if most of them were dead 6 years now. Though she was willing to admit that she could very well be wrong altogether, and she was nothing but sympathetic to the young man's situation, but why take a chance with her daughter?

Sakura, regardless of what she thought was going to happen, was not going to have that fate if her mother had anything to say about it.

But, for now, let the tensions cool a bit before resuming any talk about that. She looked over to Sayuki, "It's over. No more talking about love lives and such. Clearly, you two can't be adults about it, so I don't want any more discussions about it. Understand?"

"Yes, mam," Sayuki muttered quietly.

"Also, I want you to get off the video games and go out more. I've been lenient about that, but you can't have all your little friends being talked to through a headset. Go outside, meet people. Okay?"

Sayuki looked like she wanted to argue, but decided against it, "Okay, mom."

"Good." Mebuki simply said as she wrapped her daughter in a hug, before going into the kitchen to put away the groceries before they spoiled while Sayuki went up to her room for some privacy. She glanced at the mantle, where a couple photos were sitting. One of them was an old photo of Mebuki as a young Kunoichi, with her parents at either side. The other showed her, now a young adult, a grinning pink-haired man, and two newborn girls with the same hair color as the man. Putting away some milk and other drinks, she stopped to look at the photo of her husband, Kizashi. She wished he was still here. He had always been better about handling children than she had.

But like the rest of her family and his, Kizashi was gone. Killed in the line of duty when that monster attacked and destroyed their home. His daughters growing up never getting to know their father aside from old photos and stories from her.

 _ **Sakura's Room**_

Sakura stomped to her bed, plopping down on it with a frustrated growl as she wallowed in self-pity. She wrapped her arms around her pillow tightly as she moped. It wasn't fair. None of it was. Her stupid mom and her stupid sister just didn't understand. Especially her stupid, shut-in NEET of a sister. She knew deep down that she could win Sasuke's heart, she just needed to find out how. Why couldn't any of them see just how deeply she loved Sasuke. Couldn't they see that what he needed was a loving person in his life in order to heal his heart?

'What if they're right?' Inner Sakura suddenly said, a small little miniature version of Sakura appearing inside her head to converse. In Sakura's mind, it would almost look as if two different Sakuras were beside one another talking.

Sakura suddenly raised her head at this. Normally the 'Inner,' as she often called it, was typically supportive and behind her 100% in her arguments and feelings. It was almost like another individual in her head (Which had been nice, considering the rather lonely state of her childhood before meeting Ino. And, as it turned out, this was apparently something that was normal within the Haruno Clan.). But 'Inner' had never, ever, wavered in Sakura's quest to win Sasuke's heart.

'What? What do you mean? Of course, they're not right!'

'Oh come on, Sakura.' Inner replied, the little figure crossing her arms, 'How long have we been chasing Sasuke-Kun around?'

'S-so? That doesn't mean anything!' Sakura quickly defended, 'Sasuke-kun's been through a lot! Having your entire clan murdered isn't something you just get over overnight.'

'I know that! But you've showered Sasuke-kun with your love and affection over and over again, showing him how much you want to help him and be there for him, and where has it gotten you?'

Sakura didn't want to believe what was being said. So Sasuke-kun was a little distance and hesitant to open up. That didn't mean anything. Anything at all! He just needed time to heal. So... why didn't he reciprocate anyone's feelings? Not just hers, every girl that approaches him. 'That's... It's just...'

'What? It's just what? I hate to say it, I really do, but maybe they've got a point. Maybe Sasuke-kun just isn't going to love us back.'

'No! No! I am not listening to this! I love Sasuke, and one day he'll love me back!' Sakura defiantly responded, trying to block out the other voice in her head as she tried to go to sleep. She didn't believe it. She wouldn't. She would win Sasuke's heart one day. Then, they'd be married and have lots of children. No doubt about it.

If that was so, then why was there still some lingering doubt in her mind?

Sakura didn't have an answer. Not any that she wanted to admit.

* * *

 **That's it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **-Azores**


	5. Odyssey Arc: Part 5

**I don't own Halo or Naruto.**

 **Bold-My Own Words**

 **"Bold"-Demon Speaking**

 **'Bold'-Demon/Dark Thoughts**

 _ **Bold & Italic-Locations, Time & Calendar**_

Normal-Narrative

"Normal"-Person Speaking

'Normal'-Thoughts

 _Italic or "Italic"-Foreign Language_

 _'Italic'-Radio Chatter_

 _/Italic\\-AI/Computer typing/Written Message_

 **Shinsei Seasons:**

 **Spring: April 25 - August 4**

 **Summer: August 5 - October 11**

 **Fall: October 12 -January 6**

 **Winter: January 7 - April 24**

 **Note: The mapping of the Elemental Nations in this Fic is based on 'Elemental Nations Political Map' by xShadowRebirthx on Deviantart. (There's a geography map version, too.)**

* * *

 **!WARNING!**

 **This story contains content not suited for younger readers, such as Violence, Blood and Gore, Language, and Explicit Sexual Content. This Chapter's Rating will be placed at M-Rated. Future Chapters may, and most likely will switch back and forth between the T and M ratings.**

 **Regardless, Reader Discretion for this Chapter is advised.**

* * *

 **Arc 1  
** **Episode 5  
** **-The Tailless Tailed Beast/Welcome to Uzshiogakure-**

 _ **1049 AM  
** **October 25, 2563  
** **Fire Country  
** **Approx. 10 miles South of Hotsprings Country Border  
** **9 miles East of Matsukawa  
** **Ruins of Taishu Village**_

"Whoa..." Naruto breathed out softly as he surveyed the ruined village. Dekar had told him that this had been Taishu Village, a small little logging village long ago. During the Great War, it had been the site of a vicious battle between the Coalition and the Iron League following the failed Keishi Offensive of January-February of 2552, the soldiers of both the Sky and Lightning Armies trapped in a pocket as they were cut off by Dominion, Fire, and Hotspring forces following a counterattack in April. Here, one of the most vicious fights of the war was conducted as the Iron League troops had attempted to break out of the pocket. They failed; and a little over 2 months later the battered, freezing, and starving survivors of the once mighty army surrendered. Many considered this campaign the turning point of the war, though most Dominion citizens are skeptical that the Iron League had any genuine hope of winning the war.

No could deny that they had come close, though...

Still, for Naruto, this was a sight to see. He didn't have any memories of the war, most of the damage that Konoha suffered had been fixed up by the time he was old enough to genuinely remember anything.

Nature had reclaimed the abandoned village, with vines, earth, grass, and small shrubs everywhere. A few craters in the ground could be seen, along with a few bullet holes in the buildings. Most of the said buildings were either collapsed or rotten. A couple of warthogs, destroyed and rusted, were visible on the street, one of them being flipped on its side by some massive explosion.

The two walked through the village ruins, passing several buildings that, upon closer examination, had clear signs of battle on their frames and structure. Dekar, his cloak on him, kept a firm vigilance on their surroundings, not wanting to be the victim of another ambush. He sensed nothing, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. "Stay close, child. Abandoned settlements like this are preferred hideouts of Bandits."

Naruto was only half listening, roaming behind the former Arbiter as he took in the sights around him. He had seen old war footage in school and on history shows showing some of the battles, but they often censored the footage, especially helmet cam footage, so much it was hard to tell sometimes what you were seeing. Who cared if you saw some blood or heard some curse words? The point was to show the war as it was, wasn't it? Not pretty it up to make it look like some noble struggle between good and evil.

'War does not determine who is right, only who is left.' His stepfather's words echoed in his mind. He remembered Harrison telling him that had been a quote from some kinda Terran Philosopher from long ago. What was his name? Bert... Fussel? No, that wasn't right. It was some guy named Russel or something; he didn't remember. It didn't matter who said it; the point was all the same.

Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts, however, when he spotted something at the end of the road on his right as the two crossed a three-way junction. Down at the end of a long row of ruined buildings and several craters, there was a large building much taller than the others around it with a tall, four-story tower in its front. The front and back of the building had been blown to pieces, with some heavy fighting had happened there. The entrance had partially collapsed in on itself. He could see the forest on the other side of the building with how big some of the holes were. There was something big and blocky inside the building, but he couldn't tell. But the top of the tower was what had his attention.

"Hey, Sensei. Over here." Naruto said as he trotted down the road towards the building.

Dekar's head snapped back to the child, just in time to see him running off down the road. "Naruto, stop! We don't have time to explore." He commanded, but the boy wasn't listening.

"It'll only be a minute, I swear!" Naruto pleaded as he kept jogging, stopping just in front of the building. He could see the figure on top of the tower more clearly now. It was faded, worn by the elements, and had an arm missing, but there was no mistaking what it was.

It was a guardian angel, wings outstretched and a Christian cross in her remaining hand, her gaze cast downward as if she was watching over the road. It was a Christian church. He'd never seen one before, with Konoha's residents being firm believers in the old gods. Plus, only a handful of the Terrans that even lived in Konoha were even religious, so it didn't make any sense for them to build a church. But out here in the countryside, back when the Dominion had only just begun colonizing, several missions had been sent by the religions of the Terrans to try and find new followers for the otherwise dying religions; albeit, very slowly dying. Out here, they had had a little more success. This church is a prime example.

Naruto had always liked the idea of guardian angels. That, someone, was watching over you and protecting you from harm. It was appealing. He had loved it when Juliana would take about them. She'd always been the religious one in the family...

...

He wished he hadn't thought that. All it had done was just remind him of just how much he missed his adopted family.

"Boy!" Dekar snapped behind him! He turned around to see the Reaper stomping up to him, his face hidden but his body language showing he was not happy.

"I told you not to stray, especially in places like this!"

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to look at it real quick." Naruto tried to reason, but Dekar dismissed it.

"We are on a limited schedule as it is! I know I have explained that to you." Dekar shot back, "We do not have time to go exploring every little site we come across."

"I-" Naruto started, but fell silent as he cast his gaze down. Dekar glared down at him, angry that he had been disobeyed, but after a moment took a breath and calmed himself before he spoke.

"I understand your desire to explore. You are young; it is only natural for you to be curious about the world around you. But we are on a limited time-frame, Naruto. I only have so much time to train you in Uzushiogakure before I am forced to bring you back. I have to make up for over four years of sabotage and deceit in barely two human months. If I cannot bring you back before your academy starts up again, then you will be forced to leave the academy and wait until next year before you can go back. If those fools will even allow that. Do you want that?" Dekar said, his tone much calmer and more like a parent explaining something to their child. He did not doubt in his mind that if Naruto were late or missing on the first week, or even first day, back to the academy without some valid explanation, which in their situation would not be possible, then they would try to kick him out of the academy and bar him from becoming a Shinobi. And given his Jinchuuriki status, that might as well have been a death sentence.

Naruto, to his credit, actually looked remorseful for his actions. It appeared as though, with the battle taking place the other day and now Naruto finally realized the gravity of his situation.

"I'm sorry..." the boy said softly, before quietly asking, "Could... Could I at least spend five minutes looking? I want to get a photo of the angel."

Dekar stared at him for a few moments, before letting out a soft sigh, "Five minutes," he relented, "and not a second more. The moment I start walking back up this road, I expect to see you beside me without question. Understood?"

That got a small smile out of the child, who nodded enthusiastically before leaping up to one of the building roofs to get a better shot of the figurine.

"Be careful, child!" Dekar called out, "I doubt any of these buildings are stable. Watch your footing."

"Okay!"

He watched Naruto eagerly take out his little camera and start taking photos, trying to make the most of their time exploring before they had to leave. Dekar, on the other hand, had seen more than he fair share on the battlefields, both recent and old. There was nothing here he likely hadn't viewed a hundred times beforehand. Scouring the battlefield for intelligence or useful assets was good, but at this moment there was no need.

"Hey, Dekar! Come inside here! You won't believe what's inside!" He heard Naruto shout from inside the church. He grunted, before making his way towards one of the bigger holes in the building to try and squeeze through. After maneuvering his way through the hole, he walked into the main room of the church to see Naruto taking photos of a massive machine inside the building.

"Check it out! It's a Jaguar Tank! Look it's even still got the Sky Empire markings on the side! WOW!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. The boy had always been interested in the military machines and gadgets used by the Coalition and the Iron League from the war. And as far as he knew, the young man had never seen a tank in person. This must have been a dream come true for him.

Dekar studied the wrecked machine. The machine must have taken cover in here to watch the road, with its turret turned slightly to the left aiming down at the road. Looking from the tank's point of view, it had a vast field of fire to cover the approach from the road, making any attack from that direction costly. The back of the war machine's turret was blown open, the metal up top jaggedly pointing upward and with the interior partially melted. 'Someone must have flanked around and attacked from behind. Planted a charge of some sort to blow it up. Ammunition cooked off afterward.' Dekar concluded. He noticed there were a number and a name written on the side of the machine towards the front.

 _131\. Sōkō ryū._

'Armored Dragon. A fitting name.' Dekar mused. He couldn't help but wonder if the two operators had gotten out or were their corpses still in the metal coffin. Wrecks such as this still littered the countryside of the Elemental Nations, even after more than 8 years since the Great War's end.

The Type 4A & 4B 'Jaguar' Main Battle Tank had been the Iron League's, and their Terran ally the Colonial Rebel Alliance, final answer to the Dominion's M808 series 'Scorpion' tank, being the last iteration of a series of tanks developed by the two powers with the Insurrectionist Weapons Designer, Phil Brazier. With the same amount of armor and speed as an M808D Scorpion and the same 105mm high-velocity gun and later 120mm gun for half the price, the Jaguar was the premier workhorse of the Iron League Tank Corps in the latter half of the war. Unlike the Scorpion, it had a more 'traditional' Terran tank design going back towards the 21st Century, with the turret in the middle of the vehicle rather than in the rear like the Scorpion. Thousands of these machines had been produced during the war, so many in fact that following the war many surviving models found themselves being used by the Coalition, and the Dominion's Colonial Guards if he wasn't mistaken, as a cheaper alternative to the Scorpion, which had been upgraded to the M808S by the war's end. There were a couple of production lines still manufacturing them for use by the two powers, considering how well liked they were by their soldiers.

'If the enemy has a good idea, the greatest form of praise is to use that very idea against him.'

"What do you think happened to it?" Naruto asked.

"Observe it. What do you see?" Dekar asked. They still had a couple of minutes and it wouldn't hurt to test the boy's skills of deduction under pressure.

"Well..." Naruto said hesitantly, looking at it for a few moments, "The back of the turret is blown up and the engine's a mangled mess. So, somebody hit it from behind."

"Go on. Quickly now..."

"And..." the young Jinchuuriki started, before climbing up on the tank to look into it, "It looks really warped and melted, like what happens when you leave a chocolate bar out in the summer sun for too long. The ammo blew up, maybe?"

He was close, "Hurry up, you have a little more than a minute left before we leave. How did the ammunition cook-off?"

"I-um... Okay, okay. So, I'm not seeing anything that looks like a tank round hitting it in the side or rear. So... I guess a rocket or a missile hit it."

"You're close... Hurry." Dekar teased.

"I-wait. It's not a missile?"

"You tell me. You are the one investigating. Use your skills of deduction."

"I... Hold on. You know, don't you, Sensei? Were you, like, at this battle or something?"

"No, I have never been here before. Keep going."

Naruto's eyes narrowed in suspicion, wondering if Dekar was messing with him again like back at the river.

"Time's almost up."

"Gah- Okay, s-so it wasn't a missile, and it wasn't another tank. A Jutsu, maybe? But wouldn't the tank have more damage done to it? I mean most Jutsu need a lot of power to punch through this armor. And the Iron League would always use chakra barriers to bolster their tanks' defenses so..." Naruto started. He had begun to narrow down the possibilities, but unfortunately, he had run out of time in Dekar's mind.

"Time's up. We are leaving."

"Wait! I can figure it out!" Naruto pleaded, but Dekar shook his head, "No. I promised you five minutes and five minutes was what you got. We must go, now."

"I... aw, man." the boy said dejectedly. He hopped down from the tank, took one last picture of the whole machine before falling in beside Dekar outside.

As the two made their way back towards the three-way junction, Naruto looked dejected that he hadn't managed to figure out what killed the Jaguar tank. Still, he was happy he got the chance to check it out, even if it was only for a couple of minutes. Plus, he had some awesome photos he couldn't wait to upload to his datapad.

"So... what killed the tank?"

"In all likelihood, I concluded that someone snuck in from behind and placed an explosive charge on top of the machine to blow through the thin armor up there and ignite the ammunition, destroying the engine and interior of the tank in the process. The crew was likely dead before they even realized what had happened." Dekar responded, "However, it is entirely possible that you were correct. It could have been a Jutsu or a missile fired from above that killed the machine. We will likely never know for certain."

"So... was that some kind of test you were giving me?"

"I figured since we were there I would see how well you managed to deduce things under time and pressure," Dekar answered, almost casually.

"Oh. So, I failed?" Naruto asked.

"Not necessarily. As I stated, we do not know for certain what destroyed that machine. Anyone of those suggestions could have been the culprit, or it could have been none of them. The only person who would actually know is somebody who had been here when it happened." Dekar explained as the two turned at the junction, "You must try and draw your own conclusion, but try to be as accurate as possible. Do not conclude something base on just what you think or what you want it to be, use the evidence gathered to make as accurate a conclusion as possible. Sometimes, not everything is as it seems. I believe they have taught this lesson at the academy, have they not?"

"Yeah, though they always try to make it as incomprehensible as possible for me." the boy muttered bitterly.

"Take it all with 'a grain of salt,' as the human saying goes. You know that they are trying to sabotage you, that is what is essential. That allows me to rectify whatever lies or falsehoods they feed you. Have faith in me, Naruto, and you will succeed." Dekar assured, "Before you know it, the academy will be but a distant memory, and you will be on your way to becoming a respected warrior."

Naruto couldn't help but snort, "Sure, as long as 'Sensei' to doesn't try to kill me."

"How rude. I have yet to try and kill you, yet you accuse me of such horrid things. I am hurt, Naruto." The Sangheili said, feigning hurt, which merely earned a punch in the hip from the boy. The former Arbiter chuckled as he looked down at the boy glaring at him.

"I'm serious."

"I know," Dekar responded, "but I doubt the Hokage will allow someone with a grudge or desire to kill you become your sensei. I am confident that he will be cautious in his choice."

"If you say so..." The Jinchuuriki didn't sound convinced but didn't add anything to it.

Perhaps a change of subject was in order, "Well, then... Speaking of the academy, how are... Um..." Dekar paused for a moment, looking for the right thing to ask while Naruto arched an eyebrow at his behavior. The academy was a bit of a sore spot for discussion with Naruto. He really hated it there. "How are your friends doing?"

The blonde Jinchuuriki looked up at his mentor, "Who? Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji? I mean, they're doing good, I guess. Haven't really spoken to Shika or Choji in the past week, but I talked to Ino and her mom before we left."

"That's good. What about that one female you are so fond of? What was her name?" Dekar asked, then suddenly remembered, "Sakura. That's right."

Naruto blushed a little at the mention of his crush's name. He hadn't thought about her since they started traveling, but now after mentioning her name, he was kicking himself for never mustering the courage to talk to her. What if she met a guy while he was gone or, kami forbid, she started dating Sasuke?

 **'Like she would love a freak like you...'**

"I-well... I mean, I haven't talked to her, so-"

"Why?"

"Huh?" Naruto replied.

"Why have you still not spoken to her? Are you not attempting to court her?" Dekar asked again, confused. Humans were weird when it came to intimacy. They could either be forward and aggressive or withheld and timid. It was confusing at times.

"I..." Naruto started, his blush getting a little deeper, "Because she's head over heels in love with Sasuke. There's no way I can compete with him like that. I could have sworn I've told you this before."

"Those are not excuses! Challenge him to a proper duel and prove yourself superior!" Dekar responded sharply, letting a bit of his Sangheili pride, and hatred for the Uchiha Clan, slip out before he restrained himself. He wasn't talking to a fellow Sangheili. Humans did things such as romance differently, and he needed to remember that. Old habits and customs died hard, indeed.

"A duel?! Me? Against the number one rookie of the year? Even if I've been holding back, he'll knock me on my a- butt flat in a minute." Naruto said incredulously, catching himself this time before he cursed again. (Though Dekar wished he didn't curse at all. Such foul language was beneath the boy.) Every time there had been matches done in the academy, he had always been forced to fight Sasuke. And Dekar had always ordered him to hold back and not reveal his real strength, which resulted in him losing to the Uchiha heir every time. It was humiliating and infuriating. He hated how he was forced to sit there and endure losing over and over again. But even if he didn't hold back, there was no way he could match the best student in the class, let alone beat him.

"Such titles mean absolutely nothing outside the academy. If anything, I would say you are better than him by now." Dekar responded.

"But you always tell me to hold back and not show off any of the techniques you've taught me in the Academy. HE doesn't! I always lose to him. What difference does it make if I don't hold back?"

"Because deception is just as essential as any Jutsu, Naruto. They believe you are weak, the bottom of the tier. If you were to one day walk in there and begin performing advanced techniques they most certainly do not teach at the academy, especially given that you are an orphan, they would start asking questions as to how and where you learned them. Questions that do not need to be answered right now until we have finished your training." Dekar explained, pausing for a moment to make sure Naruto was grasping what he was trying to explain before continuing, "When we return from this trip, it will not matter anymore, though, because they will be preparing for the Genin Exam. This last bit of schooling you are doing is nothing more than just to prep you for the exam. By this point, you have already graduated from the academy; you just need to pass the Genin Exam. During this time, now you can stop holding back and show them just how strong you truly are."

"Okay..." Naruto said slowly, still not sure of himself. Beating Sasuke? Sure, he's always wanted to do it, but the Uchiha never seemed to make a mistake when it came to combat lessons. Sure, he'd beaten a Root agent, but he had merely gotten lucky. This wouldn't be the same. How was he supposed to compete with Sasuke?

"And then, along with your new found skills in courting females, you can then swoon your beloved off of her feet and have her 'head over heels in love' with you, as you had put it."

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks and went beet red in the face, "M-my-my newfound what?!"

"Skills in courting? Romance? Intimacy? 'Flirting'? Back in Nakatari Town, you hardly showed any effort, and yet you had twin females all over you. An impressive feat that will certainly be the envy of your peers. With skill such as that, you will have no problem swooning the young Haruno into becoming your beloved. I doubt you will even have to try."

Naruto could only gawk at his mentor, dumbfounded at what he was hearing, 'Is that why he made me stay in the store?! So I could learn how to pick up chicks?! What kinda messed up method was that? Has this old bastard lost it?!'

"Y-you... Tha-that wasn't me at all! They w-wouldn't leave me alone! I thought they were going to pin me to the floor or something and try to start making out with me or rip my clothes off! That was all them!" Naruto exclaimed, trying his best not to remember the sensation of twin mounds of flesh pressing into his arms while giggles echoed in his ears, "B-besides, Sakura doesn't l-like me like that, and you're thinking with the assumption she'll just up and get over Sasuke just like that."

"Nonsense, Naruto. You assume too much and have this tendency not to give yourself enough credit. Clearly, you have quite the charm or appeal. Otherwise, those females would have never acted in such a way, if I know even the slightest about human behavior. Just imagine if you applied such charms to your little beloved. She would be 'swooned off her feet', as you humans put it, in no time." Dekar responded, half-jokingly with the last couple of sentences.

Suggestive thoughts and images of a certain pink-haired kunoichi-in-training suddenly filled the teenaged boy's mind, all of them having her clinging to him just like the twins did, giggling and looking him over while holding him close, a soft little smile gracing her lips. Or wrapping her arms around him as she leaned in for a kiss. Her hair flowing softly behind her and the smell of strawberries filling his nose. And one sentence kept echoing in his mind with her voice in an almost sing-song fashion, "Naruto-kun~, I love you~." For a young hormonal teenager who had just started going through puberty, even such PG-13 images were a little too much. A couple of spurts of blood erupted from his nostrils as he doubled-over on shaky knees, much to the shock and panic of Dekar, who thought the boy had somehow been injured.

"Naruto? Naruto! Speak to me, child! What's wrong?! Are you injured?! What happened?!" Dekar asked, grasping the boy by the shoulders and shaking him, so he was facing him.

With blood still leaking out of his nose and his eyes staring off into space, Naruto muttered out, "Saku...ra... Lips... Pretty..."

His brain wasn't working anymore. And Dekar now had to spend a few minutes calming the boy's hormones down, all the while cursing what he was certain was the Kyuubi's influence on the boy. 'Damned fox! Pulling such treachery on him!' He thought angrily.

The idea that Naruto's current state may have been his fault instead never crossed his mind.

 _ **A few minutes of recuperating later...**_

Having finally managed to calm the boy and get him on the move again, the two were now quite a distance from the abandoned village, making good progress toward their destination. After several minutes of silence between the two, Dekar suddenly asked, "I have not asked you yet to give you some time to come to terms, but... how are you, Naruto? Since yesterday?"

 **'How does it feel to be a murderer? Not that you weren't already one...'**

Since he killed someone for the first time, is what he meant. In all honesty, Naruto had felt horrible when he had done it. Regardless of what the Root Agents were planning with him, he had still killed another person — someone his own age from the looks of it. It had disturbed him for hours afterward. He was still bothered by it, but now, he didn't really feel as bad regarding it. He wasn't proud that he had done, but he wasn't ashamed, either. It was like Dekar had told him. He did what he had to, and that was it.

The only thing he was dreading regarding it was that, as his mentor had warned, he would likely be forced to do things like that again. Decisions he didn't want to make.

"I'm okay. Still a little shaken up, but I think I'm over it for the most part." Naruto answered honestly. He looked up to his mentor, "Was it hard for you? The first time you killed someone?"

"The first person I ever killed was a fellow Sangheili clansman who had been found guilty of murdering and robbing a family of their possessions. I was made the executioner by my uncle who tutored me in the swordmen arts. A test, he called it, to see if I had the nerve and honor to be called a swordsman." Dekar answered, his gaze distant as recalled the old memories, "The killer, due to the unique circumstance of the execution, was given a chance to earn his freedom by facing me in a trial by combat. If he killed me, he would go free. If I killed him, then I would have proven myself worthy to bear the title of a swordsman."

"A trial by combat? Kinda seems a little odd. If he's guilty of murder, why would you give him a chance to go free? Wouldn't that be just giving him a chance to go around murdering again?" Naruto asked.

"Because this was a unique circumstance, not to mention he also requested a trial by combat. This was during a time of peace in the Covenant, with no real opportunities to prove myself worthy in a field of battle. Therefore, I was pitted against a killer who was known for his martial skills. Given the situation at the time, I was not going to find a better opportunity to prove myself. And I had to if I wanted to become a swordsman and bring honor to my clan. Failure meant nothing less than death." Dekar explained as the two approached an intersection in the road.

"Okay..." Naruto said slowly, scratching his head. 'Geez, Sangheili Honor can be really confusing, sometimes.' "Well, what happened? I mean, clearly, you won."

The former Arbiter nodded, "That I did, but I almost lost, too. I was an unblooded novice in his first real fight, while my opponent was a seasoned killer. I was careless more than a few times, and I nearly died as a result." Dekar removed part of his cloak to expose his left arm. Lifting it and pointing at his armpit, he continued, "You probably cannot see the scar due to my armor, but he managed to stab me here with his curveblade and came very close to piercing both my left heart and lung. That would have killed me had he succeeded. I was fortunate to have survived such a careless move. I still have the scar to this day. A humble reminder that even the most experienced of warriors can be felled to an inexperienced warrior, and also remind me that carelessness and arrogance are surefire ways to get a warrior killed if he is not careful."

"Whoa..." Naruto said, amazed at the thought that not only Dekar had moments where he screwed up and was overconfident, since to Naruto he never seemed to be able to screw anything up combat related, but that he also had almost died, "But I thought you told me that death in battle was a highly sought death for Sangheili. Plus, didn't you still believe in the Covenant and their religion at this time?"

"Yes on both accounts. Sangheili warriors desire nothing more than to die in the field of battle amidst their foes. It is the highest honor a warrior can receive for our people. But we also fear to die a senseless death, from whatever circumstance — one that not only was wasteful but in such a way it would forever stain our honor. If a warrior was killed in a battle because he slipped and broke his neck from falling or from, is that an honorable way to die? No. And the mindset holds true for dying from a convict. To die from such a disgraced and honorless being is considered one of the most disgraceful ways for our people to die." Dekar answered, scanning their surroundings for a moment, "In other words, I could not afford to fail or lose."

"I see." Naruto replied, then chuckled, "I'm glad I wasn't born a Sangheili. Your whole concept of honor sounds confusing."

"Hmm..." Dekar grunted, pondering for a moment before conceding, "I admit, sometimes it is infuriating. Every Clan and Keep have their own concepts and ideas on what constitutes as 'Honorable.'"

"Good grief, bet that causes a lot of issues." Naruto deadpanned. Now, he was really glad he wasn't born a Sangheili.

Dekar merely grunted in agreement. The Sangheili was an odd race, to put it mildly. They were incredibly intelligent and innovative in one way, yet foolish, narrow-minded, and obsessive at the same time. It was a maddening combination, one that had held the Sangheili back from their full potential as a species, along their continued divided civilization even into this modern age. Warfare wasn't prevalent between the Keeps anymore, at least when he had been around, but tension and battle did still happen. The lack of a single unifying factor within the Sangheili (He refused to consider the lies and false divinity of bastard prophets a unifying force for his people.) was without a doubt their biggest weakness.

An Arbiter could unite them... Dekar sighed bitterly. Arbiters were nothing more than disgraced warriors, now, than the Judge-Kings they once were. False promises of eternal salvation and godhood had blinded his people and led to the bastardizing of the Arbiter's purpose within the Sangheili. No one would trust the word of an Arbiter these days. He had learned that lesson the hard way.

The two continued down the road towards Matsukawa, now only about 5 miles away. Dekar knew that the small coastal village would have a few boats that could be rented or purchased, and the distance across the sea to the southern end of Uzshio Island where Uzushiogakure was situated was only about 35 or so miles from the small port, which should take them an hour or two at most to cross. Then, they would be alone and able to train Naruto properly. And they needed-

Dekar stopped momentarily, tilting his head up and stiffening as if he had been struck.

Naruto kept walking forward for a few steps before he realized Dekar had stopped. Looking back confused, he asked, "Sensei? Everything okay?" Dekar quickly looked softened his posture and glanced at Naruto. "Sorry. I thought I had sensed something, but I think I had been mistaken." He quickly answered, reassuringly.

"Oh. What'd you sense? Or think you sense?"

"I'm not sure," Dekar said quickly, "I probably just sensed a herd of elk nearby."

"Wait, you can sense something like that?!" Naruto asked, surprised. Hunting must be a breeze if Dekar can sense stuff like that.

"Sometimes. All native creatures on Shensei have chakra residing in them. While one elk wouldn't be detectable normally, if a herd of them were large enough, I could detect them. My sensor ability is... underdeveloped, to put it mildly. I can only detect chakra signatures of a certain size and my range is limited to maybe a kilometer at best."

"Oh... still, that's pretty cool you can do that. I don't think Konoha has many sensory types." Naruto replied.

"It does, but not many that detect chakra signatures. The Inuzuka Clan, for example, are a group of sensor-type ninja in a way, but they use their superior sense of smell rather than detecting chakra signatures. The Aburame Clan are another example, or would be."

"Huh?"

"The Aburame use to use a special type of insect called a _Bikōchū_ that had a powerful sense of smell which could be used to track down individuals. However, the species were nearly driven to extinction after the Third Shinobi World War, so the Aburame ceased using them. They have can have their other insects create false chakra signals and confuse sensors."

"Ah, okay. I see." Naruto said as the two started walking again, his thoughts now on sensor-type shinobi. It sounded cool being able to detect other people's chakra. "Hey, would the Hyuuga count as a sensor-type because of their Byakugan?"

Dekar nodded, "Indeed, but they use their Byakugan to see an individual's chakra network rather than the signature an individual has."

"Huh... Do you think I could learn how to detect chakra signatures?" The boy asked.

Dekar pondered for a moment, glancing slightly behind him before answering, "I am not sure. I, unfortunately, cannot teach you as my own skills within it are imperfect and at their limit. It is possible someone could teach you some sensor skills, though I am not certain who could be asked to do so at the moment."

"Okay. Just a thought I had." Naruto said nonchalant, before falling silent and looking ahead.

Dekar kept glancing to his sides and rear, making sure Naruto didn't notice. It was rare for Dekar to get nervous, often priding himself for being calm and collected even in the worst situations. But here, he was more worried about Naruto than himself.

He wasn't entirely honest with Naruto when he told him he had sensed nothing.

In reality, the chakra signature he had sensed was massive. So large he could have sworn it was another Jinchuuriki. 'But that is extremely unlikely. Only six other Jinchuuriki exist, and none of them are in Fire Country as far as I'm aware.' Dekar thought grimly. Jinchuuriki or not, whoever that chakra signature belonged to had to have been a Shinobi. There was no other explanation. For now, the individual was far behind them, maybe 600 meters or so. Not an immediate threat, but one that couldn't be ignored. With any luck, they could make it into town and be on their way before anything happened.

Because whoever that was, they had the largest chakra signature he'd ever sensed save for a Jinchuuriki.

 _ **1140 AM  
**_ _ **Roughly 1.5 Miles outside of Matsukawa**_

They were being followed.

Dekar was sure of it, now. The chakra signature would occasionally disappear, only to reappear again maybe 10-15 minutes later but never changing its distance. He mentally cursed himself for not teaching Naruto further lessons on how to suppress his signature. He was sure that's who this individual was sensing. That, or they could detect his unique signature even if he were suppressing it. Whoever it was wanted them to know they were being followed, and that they were alone. Why? What purpose did it serve to alert your target to your presence? Either way, he didn't like it. If this was an enemy shinobi following them, then Naruto needed to be gone. Such a Shinobi was likely an extremely dangerous foe, and Naruto was nowhere near ready to battle such an enemy. He would only be a liability in such a fight, as much as it pained Dekar to think that way. But Dekar needed to be focused entirely on the battle- Dekar stopped cold in his tracks, his body tense.

The chakra signature just closed the distance by half, a shushin no doubt, and was approaching slowly but surely.

Naruto could see the small coastal village in the distance. It wasn't large at all, with maybe a few hundred people living in it. Still, it was a lovely looking town. Naruto was confident they could probably get a few provisions before they left for Uzshiogakure. For some reason, there was a faint pain in his head, making him wince slightly at the throbbing in his skull. But Naruto thought it was merely just a headache and tried his best to ignore it.

"Naruto." Dekar suddenly said, causing the young Jinchuuriki to look back to his mentor.

"Yeah? What's up, Sensei?"

"I have an assignment for you." Dekar quickly said, "I think I may have been mistaken about that chakra signature, earlier. I think it might be a group of shinobi bandits that are known to operate in this area and want to go investigate."

Naruto made a face at his mentor, "What happened to 'we are on a time-schedule?'"

"I will admit, it does sound a bit hypocritical, but this is different. I won't be but maybe half an hour at most and merely wish to confirm my suspicions. This group of bandits have been plaguing the region for a few months now and confirming their location would allow for Konoha to deal with them finally. Meanwhile, I have an important assignment for you." Dekar quickly pulled out a small scroll and handed it to Naruto, "This contains a large number of funds. Roughly 4 million in Ryu if memory serves correctly. I want you to use this and requisition us a boat while I am away."

Naruto was surprised by request, "You sure you don't want me to come with you and, you know, get more experience?"

Dekar knew what the boy meant by that, 'Do you want me to come and kill some more?', But shook his head, "I do not plan on fighting, and as I said, I should only be a half hour, maybe a full hour at most. While I am doing this, I want you to do this so we can leave the moment I return. Can you do this for me?"

Naruto thought about it for a moment, but slowly smiled at nodded at his mentor, happy at the responsibility being given to him and at the chance to prove himself. "You got it, Sensei! I'll get us a good boat."

Dekar nodded, glancing at his sides as he spoke, "Good. It doesn't need to be a high-quality or expensive vessel, just one that will serve our needs." Naruto nodded at this and started running towards town, waving behind him as he did. Dekar called out, "Remember to keep your disguise up! I am counting on you!"

"Got it! See ya soon, Sensei!" Naruto leaped a couple times before resuming to run towards town.

Dekar watched the boy's figure grow smaller, hoping that he would, in fact, see the boy again. The individual was now maybe 100-120 meters away and closing, using the trees to hide. Dekar mentally prepared himself for another potential battle as he suddenly shushined away into the trees, pushing the very limits of his shushin and bringing himself behind the individual's location, roughly 40 meters away. Dekar stood motionless as he waited to see what the individual would do. They likely could sense his own chakra signature, and would likely react at the aggressive move.

The signature stopped.

'Who is your target? Is it me? Or do you know who's with me?' Dekar pondered as he continued waiting patiently. He was close enough that if the target made an attempt to pursue Naruto, his speed would allow him to intercept the Shinobi and deal with him. To his surprise, the signature calm started walking towards him, making no attempt to hide their presence. He was expecting the individual to charge him or attempt to surprise him with some sort of Jutsu. Still hidden away in the woods, Dekar couldn't tell who the individual was but was certain he'd know soon enough.

The individual suddenly vanished, and Dekar barely had time to twist around and draw _Bitoku no Kaze_ as the individual reappeared behind him, wielding a massive sword and swinging the blade to try and disemboweled the former Arbiter. Dekar managed to block the strike, but the sheer force of the blow sent him sliding back some 50 feet. The Reaper immediately got into a defensive stance, eyeing the individual with barely contained rage as he now could see who was attacking him. Standing almost 7 feet tall, a giant of a human, the individual had a massive odd sword in his right hand that was nearly as tall as he was, with a long handle with a small skull at the end of it and the blade itself wrapped in bandages. It looked vaguely familiar, but he wasn't focused on the blade.

The individual was hidden under a black cloak with red clouds on it.

Akatsuki.

Having gone silent for years only to turn up now. What rotten luck. "You have a lot of nerve wearing that cloak and seeking me out, heathen. You must have a death wish," Dekar growled out, acting confident. In his mind, though, he was panicking. Dekar hadn't been expecting Akatsuki to be after them, not even certain if they had known of Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki, and in turn, had foolishly sent Naruto into town alone. And the old warrior knew that the Akatsuki never traveled alone, often moving in pairs that complemented the other's abilities to form an extremely dangerous two-man team. The Akatsuki member said nothing, merely raising the sword up and propping it on his shoulder as he eyed the Reaper. Underneath the cloak, Dekar could faintly see the man's jaw and part of the neck. The skin coloring looked... wrong. Humans weren't supposed to have blue-gray skin. Was the Akatsuki member sick or something? Or was he some kind of specialized Shinobi?

The Akatsuki suddenly had a massive grin on his face, showing off a mouth of sharp triangular teeth, almost like that of a shark, as he started to chuckle. Dekar could have sworn he saw something that looked like gills on the man's upper cheeks.

"Dekar 'Nythrus... The Reaper, himself." The Akatsuki said finally, catching the former Arbiter's attention. He wasn't surprised an Akatsuki knew his name or even knew who he was, but this individual sounded... excited? The strange Akatsuki continued, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to fight you."

"Interesting. Normally, Akatsuki members want nothing to do with me." Dekar replied, trying to sound as calm as possible, but the thought of Naruto in danger continued to plague his mind, "Have you sought me out to die, by chance?"

The Akatsuki laugh aloud, "Not by intention, but then again anything's possible concerning a fight with you, isn't it? You're the legendary Reaper after all. The Terror of the Elemental Nations. Kage-Slayer."

"Spare me the titles, Akatsuki mongrel. I have heard them all a thousand times over and care for them as little now as I did the first time I heard them." Dekar remarked, deciding to get to the point, "What do you want?"

The rogue Shinobi merely grinned, "What do you think?"

A feral rage built up inside Dekar, taking all of his willpower to suppress. "You will not succeed..." He snarled out, readying his stance. This animal would not take Naruto. Not if he had anything to say about it.

"We'll see. So let's see why you're called the REAPER!" The Akatsuki bellowed out as he lunged forward, swinging the massive blade in a wide arc as he closed in on Dekar. The Reaper replied in kind and parried the strike with _Bitoku no Kaze_ , a resounding clang singing out from the sheer force of the two blades striking. The two traded strikes, blows, and parries with one another, Dekar surprised to see an individual capable of keeping up with him. This Akatsuki wasn't just fast, he was incredibly strong, too, as several times he actually forced Dekar to slide back from the strength of some of his swings, which wasn't an easy thing to do to the former Arbiter.

Dekar stepped back from a swing aimed at his head and managed to land a glancing blow into the Akatsuki member's arm, too shallow to do any real damage but enough to draw blood. The rogue Shinobi retaliated by swinging his massive blade upward, hoping to catch the Sangheili in the chest. To his surprise, Dekar actually managed to duck past and down beneath the strike, katana ready to thrust up into the man's head. But the Akatsuki surprised him again by grabbing _Bitoku no Kaze_ with his hand, shifting it aside while the other hand had the massive sword raised above and ready to strike him down. With no time to dodge, Dekar instead went on the offensive and slammed a right hook straight into the man's face, throwing him back and knocking off his hood while at the same time freeing his sword from the man's grasp.

Dekar quickly followed up by closing the distance again and trying to quickly end this fight by beheading the individual. But the Akatsuki member just chuckled and lurched out of the way, and then slammed an uppercut into Dekar's chest, the sheer strength of the punch sending the former Arbiter flying through the air with a yelp of pain and surprise. Dekar attempted to control his tumble and land on his feet but ended up crashing into a thick tree branch some 80 feet away from the Akatsuki warrior, wood splinters flying off and bending the branch from the force of the impact as Dekar fell to the ground with a grunt.

"Come, now. Surely that isn't all you've got!" The Akatsuki mocked, pressing his fingers into the wound on his arm and then licking the blood off them casually, "I haven't even resorted to Ninjutsu, yet."

Dekar growled out, rising on shaky legs as he regained his senses and glared at his opponent, drawing in a shaky breath. He could now see the face of who he was fighting, and that made all the more anxious to get back to Naruto and ensure his safety. The Akatsuki's face was disturbing to look at, an unnatural look for a human to have. His eyes were nothing more than tiny round white eyes, staring intently at him. Underneath either of them were three sets of curved facial markings, looking almost like the gills of a fish, and he had blue hair that was spiked and standing straight up, almost to a point. On his forehead was forehead guard was the symbol for the Hidden Mist Village, a slash in the middle to signify a rogue ninja status.

"Well, come on, then! Don't keep me waiting, Reaper! Show me what you can really do!" The Akatsuki called out as he charged forward, a maniacal grin smeared on his face. Dekar said nothing as he brought Bitoku no Kaze up again and met the warrior halfway with a clashing of swords. Two elite Swordsmen battling to the death. The two warriors continued to battle it out, blades clashing and an occasional flurry of fists or kicks being thrown out, but neither one has a distinct advantage over the other. Dekar was growing impatient. He needed to end this right now and quickly return to Naruto. The boy could be in danger. No. He was in danger, he may just not know it yet. Dekar had no idea where the man had disappeared to after so many years or when he had joined the Akatsuki or why, but Naruto had to get as far away from here as possible.

Hoshigaki Kisame, the Tailless Tailed Beast, had joined the Akatsuki and was now after him.

 _ **Meanwhile...  
**_ _ **In Matsukawa**_

Naruto explored the small marketplace of the coastal town, having his little disguise up to hide his whiskers as he looked at some of the window displays some of the stores had. He had a decent boat lined up and ready to sail (Didn't matter if it was a 12-year-old kid, nobody was saying no to 500,000 Ryu.), and he got a surprisingly good deal on it, too. He wanted to grab a couple souvenirs and maybe a gift for Dekar. He didn't know when he would get another chance to do something like this. But, he also wasn't really sure what to get Dekar. The Sangheili had never asked for anything from Naruto. Hell, he didn't even know when Dekar's birthday was. Still, he felt he should get his mentor something at least to show how much he's appreciated all that he's done for him over the years.

'Hmm. What to get, what to get...' Naruto pondered. He thought about getting him a couple of new weapons, maybe some replacements, but the only weapons shop here had only knives, kunai, bows, and spears. Nothing that Dekar used. (Though Naruto did go in and buy himself several sets of Kunai for his use.)

'Maybe something to read?' He'd seen his mentor reading often. Actual paperback books, too, as opposed to downloading one onto a datapad which he's never seen Dekar use. Maybe he could find him something to read.

'But when you've been around on Shensei as long as he has, he's bound to have read like a thousand books.' The trick would be to get something that Dekar would certainly prefer to read but hasn't yet. Well, he's a warrior, isn't he? What would a career warrior likely like to read?

He walked down the street and found a small store that sold books amongst other things. Going down a couple of aisles, he saw the books section and started rummaging through them, see if maybe he could find some about wars from before the Dominion's arrival. Naruto knew that Dekar had participated in the Great War, having fought against Earth, Rain, Rice, and Lightning on the Western Continent, so he likely wouldn't be as interested in that as opposed to the older wars. (At least, he hoped that was the case.)

"Romance of the Twin Cities. No. The Historian's Guide to the Lightning-Water War. Eh, maybe? We'll come back to that one." Naruto muttered to himself as he tried to find books revolving around certain wars and such. He then found a book that caught his own eye. "The Whirlpool Chronicles: A History of the Rise and Fall of Whirlpool Country. By Azarov Semenov. Huh." Naruto picked the book up and examined it. He'd heard of the late scientist being mentioned a few times back at the academy. He had been a brilliant scientist that had dedicated most of his time on Shensei trying to learn the secrets of chakra and how it came to be. Course, any Shinobi can tell you how this came to be. What Shinobi didn't know of the Sage of the Six Paths? For some reason, the Terrans didn't believe in the story. Still, Azarov dedicated the last years of his life trying to preserve and catalog knowledge on Shensei that could have very well of been lost to the ages.

Still, he never knew the late scientist had written a book on Uzushiogakure and Whirlpool Country. And, good grief! This book was so damn thick! He opened it up at the end to see what the final page number was. 1285. Good Kami! That'd take him forever to read! Still, it'd probably be worth it, though. Who knows what kind of information was in here. 'Heh. There might be some knowledge in here even Dekar doesn't know about.' Naruto thought with some amusement.

That settled it for him. He'd buy this book for both of them, then grab another book for Dekar to read. He searched through, the book still in his hand as he looked, and found another book he thought would interest Dekar. Field of Roses: the History of the War of Mournful Roses. Also by Azarov Semenov. That was when Dekar crash landed on Shensei, so that might be a good read for him. Grabbing the book, Naruto took the two books up to the counter to pay for them.

After purchasing them and walking out the store, he walked down the street back towards the docks, eyeing the stores past him as he did so and taking a few photos with the small camera he had. He glances to his left for a moment, then stopped and looked. To his left was a jewelry store, with Naruto's attention on the jewelry displayed in the window. Walking up to the window, he saw a small necklace with a silver-colored floral pendant, with a bright emerald in the center of the four pedal pendant. It was beautiful, and the emerald reminded him of a certain pinkette back home. She had beautiful emerald-colored eyes.

Naruto had always wanted to get Sakura a birthday present but had always been both to poor to actually get her something and too nervous to even approach her with such a thing. He hasn't even managed to talk to her yet. He looked at the price on the necklace. 1,500 Ryu. That wasn't bad, actually. The necklace looked like it was worth three times that. (Or maybe he just knew nothing about jewelry and pricing.) Perhaps he should get it...

Naruto sat there for a moment, wondering if he should buy it. Even if he did, it would still be some time before he could give it to her. But, at the same time, if he ever wanted to win over Sakura, Naruto was going to have to start somewhere. He moaned slightly under his breath as he stood there staring at the necklace, debating.

'I hope Dekar gets back, soon. Maybe I can ask him for his input.' Naruto thought.

 _ **Back outside of Matsukawa  
**_ **(Begin Song- 'Shouryuu' from Naruto OST)**

Hoshigaki Kisame. 6'10" and roughly 240 pounds of pure muscle. S-Ranked Missing-Nin. One of the Seven Deadly Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, and arguably the most powerful of the seven. The Tailless Tailed Beast. Monster of the Hidden Mist. Wielder of the blade _Samehada_. An incredibly dangerous opponent to face for even the strongest and most seasoned Shinobi. Disappeared sometime after the end of the Mist Civil War during the Great War. No one knew what had happened to him when he had disappeared, some believing he had been killed at some point during the war. Dekar wouldn't know, as this was the first time he had ever faced the legendary Swordsman of the Hidden Mist. He also didn't know when this warrior had joined the Akatsuki, which was very concerning to think about. If Madara had gotten his hands on someone as powerful as Kisame, who else had he managed to recruit to his cause?

Dekar, having long since discarded his cloak, roared out as he slammed another series of rapid strikes into the Akatsuki Shinobi, who used his massive blade's width and impressive reflexes to block the incoming attacks while performing a set of one-handed handsigns. Swinging his enormous sword to force the Reaper back, Kisame roared out, "Water Style! Water Bullet Jutsu!" then unleashed a torrent of water straight at Dekar. At such point-blank range, there was no way to dodge it, and Dekar was struck dead on the chest, shouting out as he was thrown back and sent crashing into the ground with a pained gasp.

Quickly rising to his feet, the former Arbiter dodged another Water Bullet, then a third one and rolling aside a 'Water Shark Bullet' as he charged the Akatsuki warrior, his breath labored but with _Bitoku no Kaze_ in hand and ready to strike. He was done being on the defensive. Time to attack and end this. As he charged forward with a burst of speed, Kisame grinned and started performing more handsigns.

Dekar, noticing the pattern of handsigns and realizing what Jutsu it was, tried to stop and fall back but was too late. Kisame shouted out, "Water Prison Jutsu!"

The next thing the Reaper knew, he was caught in a large sphere of water, spinning him around in the swell as he fought to try and escape it. Sangheili, though, were not graceful swimmers or even good ones. And he couldn't even strike the individual who had cast it, the sphere being so large he couldn't thrust his katana out to attack Kisame who was holding a hand on the sphere of water.

"A bit disappointing," Kisame commented as Dekar struggled inside the sphere, raising Samehada to point it directly at the Reaper, "I was expecting a little more fight out of you. I guess that's what happens when you get too old, huh?"

Dekar, eerily, stopped struggling and eyed the Akatsuki warrior, his eyes narrowing. Kisame smirked at first, thinking maybe he struck a nerve, but then pondered something. This was the Reaper he was fighting here. For someone who's been terrorizing the Elemental Nations for nearly a century, you'd think he would be a little harder to cap-

Poof! Dekar disappeared inside the sphere.

"SHIT!" Kisame snarled, realizing it was a substitution and removed his hand from the sphere as he spun around just in time to see an 8-foot Sangheili slam his fist straight into the man's head, slamming him into the sphere and bursting the ball of water. Dekar followed this by slicing his blade into Kisame's chest, blood spraying out of the wound. The only thing that kept that strike from slicing open Kisame's chest and killing him was due to the Mist swordsman lurching further backward at the last second. But the Reaper wasn't done with his attack. The Akatsuki quickly swung his blade at Dekar's midsection, which was blocked by _Bitoku no Kaze_. Dekar followed this up by slamming his elbow into the man's chest to throw him off again then sliding his katana forward up the length of _Samehada_ , slicing into the Mist swordsman's arm and forcing him to drop the giant blade.

Kisame wasn't going to take this lying down, though, as he recovered and grabbed the katana with his bare hand. With an impressive display of his raw strength, Kisame yanked the weapon out of Dekar's hand and angrily threw it aside as he launched a punch at the former Arbiter. Dekar blocked the strike and countered with a triple attack aimed at the man's chest. Two of the punches managed to hit and throw the Akatsuki member back some, who retaliated with a barrage of punches and jabs at Dekar as the two warriors, now stripped of their primary weapons, began trading blows with one another in a fierce bout of Taijutsu. The two mighty warriors held nothing back, slamming fist or elbow into the other with uncontained fury. Kisame was faster with the strikes and had incredible physical strength, but Dekar had reach and durability, along with his own impressive level of strength to throw into the brawl. Despite the ferocity of their fight, Kisame was laughing, slowly forcing the Sangheili back as he gloated, "Oh, come on! So lackluster! Surely your Taijutsu is better than this. Maybe I should see if that brat of yours is better at it. _Samehada_ was rather looking forward to cutting him into pieces!"

Dekar snapped.

With a rage-filled animalistic roar, Dekar slammed his fist repeatedly into Kisame's skull and chest, dozens of rapid-fire, powerful blows sending the man reeling and forcing him on the defensive before the mighty Sangheili warrior launched an uppercut, breaking the man's guard and making him stagger back. The Reaper then charged forward, tackling the Akatsuki warrior and barreling into a tree with him with a bellowing warcry. Splinters went flying off the tree from the force of the impact as Dekar preceded to launch his own barrage of powerful strikes into Kisame, slamming his fist repeatedly into the man's head and torso with the determination to break the human's body from the sheer ferocity of his onslaught.

Dekar was no longer the calm and collected Sangheili swordsman that Naruto knew. His rage had built up to uncontrollable levels, turning him back into the savage, relentless, and merciless warrior that was recognized by the world as the Reaper. The unstoppable harbinger of death. The Sangheili's roar was thunderous and filled with the kind of rage only a warrior who has lost everything could contain as he slammed one fist after another into Kisame's frame. And yet despite this onslaught of raw physical power being thrown against him, Kisame was not backing down, throwing his own punches occasionally back at the towering alien, slamming powerful strikes into the Sangheili's body.

Finally, the two warriors slammed a fist into the other's face simultaneously, throwing the two away from one another. Dekar went crashing into the ground some 20 feet away, while Kisame was slammed into the tree, which snapped and fell over finally after enduring the onslaught of earlier, barely avoiding crushing Dekar as it fell.

 **(Song Ends)**

Dekar, battered, bloodied, and exhausted, slowly rolled over onto his hands and feet, his rage slowly fading away. His body ached, his muscles protesting every movement. He was well past his prime as a warrior, and it was showing. Sucking in several deep breaths of air, he coughed up some blood and spat the indigo-colored liquid onto the ground as he tried to steady his breathing and calm his nerves. Slowly standing up, he looked over to the tree, looking for any sign of the Akatsuki member. The tree had fallen over on top of the warrior, hiding him from view. He could see a few blood stains on the tree and the ground around it, but aside from that, Dekar saw no sign of him.

Sucking in a breath of air, Dekar scanned his surroundings, knowing Kisame wasn't dead. It was never that easy to kill an S-Ranked Shinobi. And Kisame was most certainly an S-Ranked. Dekar cautiously walked towards _Bitoku no Kaze_ , laying on the ground some 50 feet away, never taking his eyes off his surroundings. He was mentally cursing their luck. The Akatsuki, after staying quiet since roughly after the end of the Great War, chose now to return and it seemed they knew about Naruto, despite both Kushina and his best attempts to hide the truth about Naruto's status. He couldn't say he was surprised they knew, though. Too many people in Konoha knew about Naruto's Jinchuuriki status, and too many of them wanted the boy dead. Maybe someone had blabbed. It was irrelevant, now. He needed to grab Naruto and get to Uzushiogakure, now.

He reached the katana and quickly picked it up, not even wasting time to inspect it for damage. Dekar needed to return to Naruto now. He spotted his cloak some distance away and quickly retrieved it, putting it on quickly before preparing to move, but then had a thought. He looked over to see where _Samehada_ had been dropped, thinking to maybe secure the weapon to deny it to its user, and stopped cold in his tracks.

 _Samehada_ was gone.

 **(Begin Song - 'Himoji' from Naruto OST)**

Without warning, a geyser of water exploded right next to him, then several more burst around him and the surrounding area, destroying the road and even thrusting entire trees hundreds of feet into the air from the raw strength of the geysers. Dekar, weapon at the ready, scanned his surroundings for his foe as more geysers erupted from the ground. He felt the ground rumble beneath him and quickly rolled to his side as a geyser exploded out where he had stood, the force of the eruption throwing the warrior off his feet and sailing through the air. Dekar was able to land on his feet this time, just in time to barely block another strike from Kisame on his flank, with the tip of _Samehada_ slicing into his shoulder, drawing blood. Kisame, who was also battered and bloodied, wore a crazed grin on his face as he pressed against the former Arbiter, the two warriors trying to force the other back with raw strength. Chakra began to visibly appear around the two as their rage caused a flaring of their respective chakra, Dekar's indigo-colored chakra seeming to clash and battle with Kisame's own vibrant dark blue chakra. The sheer intensity of the chakra output causing the ground beneath them to buckle and depress from the sheer level of force being put out.

"That's it! That's what I wanted to see! Oh hahaha, I'm so glad you didn't disappoint me. There are too many liars and exaggerators in this damn world nowadays and too little integrity. I just wish I'd gotten to fight you in your prime. Getting old must suck, don't it, Split-lip?" Kisame commented, a dark chuckle escaping as he spoke. The massive crazed grin never left his face. This crazed man was enjoying every bit of this, despite his injuries.

Dekar said nothing as he attempted to force the swordsman back, snarling as he did so. Geysers of water, no doubt a Water Jutsu of some kind cast by Kisame, Water Geyser if he remembered correctly, continued to burst around them but there seemed to be no apparent pattern in their eruptions, but staying reasonably close to the two. If this was meant to disrupt his movements, then Kisame could have picked a better Jutsu. But with the randomness of the attack and the fact it lasts as long as the castor channeled chakra into it, Kisame could very well land a lucky hit on him if Dekar wasn't careful.

Kisame just chuckled again, "It doesn't matter how good you are, though. I do not tire, and cannot be defeated! Throw anything and everything you have at me, Reaper, but that old body of yours will break, eventually." The Akatsuki leaned in close and grinned, "And then, when you lie dead in a pool of your own blood and gore, the world will know who is truly the greatest swordsman."

"You love to gloat, and assume too MUCH!" Dekar bellowed, raising a foot and delivering a solid kick into the Akatsuki warrior's midsection, throwing him back. The Reaper charged forward and slammed _Bitoku no Kaze_ down onto Kisame, hoping to cut through the man's head. But the Akatsuki member was fast, sidestepping to the left and sweeping one of Dekar's legs out from underneath, nearly toppling the towering alien and throwing him off balance. Kisame quickly followed this with several downward fists on the side of the Reaper's head, one of which painfully struck the alien's mandibles and earning a gasp of pain. Dekar responded by backhanding Kisame, then headbutting him.

Kisame began casting another jutsu with one hand, but Dekar quickly stopped this by going on the offensive, thrusting his blade forward to try and pierce the man's heart. This forced the Mist swordsman to ceased his handsigns and brought _Samehada_ up to defend. The two resumed to trade sword strikes and parries with one another, looking to gain an opening on the other but finding none. All around them, geysers of water continued to erupt from the ground near them or even right next to them at times, but none managed to hit the two as they always kept moving from them. It was almost as if they were forming a perimeter around the two, to prevent either one from retreating.

Kisame put some distance between the two; the Akatsuki swordsman launched another Jutsu, "Water Style! Water Shark Bullet Jutsu!" throwing his hand forward as a massive body of water, shaped like a shark per the namesake, went flying straight towards Dekar. The Reaper managed to barely avoid the attack, the shark's 'fin' grazing his leg as he rolled away, before impacting the ground behind him. Rising back to his feet, Dekar began to charge forward, only to be struck head-on by a Water Bullet, throwing him back and crashing into a tree with a resounding whack! Dekar gasped out as the breath was knocked out of him, rising to his feet and blocking the incoming blow from Kisame's giant sword as the swordsman tried to stab into the Reaper's gut. Kisame had him pinned, now. The brute's strength was about equal to his own if he had to guess, and Dekar couldn't move without taking a hit from _Samehada_. He needed an opening, and fast.

The ground beneath him began to rumble...

Dekar quickly formulated a plan. It wasn't a good one, but it was the only one that would work. He promptly collapsed his guard, letting Samehada go thrusting past him and into the tree, but not before it managed to slice into the side of his stomach, scrapping against his armor and trying to bypass it. Dekar quickly slashed _Bitoku no Kaze_ into Kisame's outstretched chest, piercing his right lung in the process. The Akatsuki bellowed out and swiped out with _Samehada_ , the massive sword penetrating Dekar's armor and cutting deep in his flank as Kisame tore free from the engagement, throwing the Katana free of both his chest and Dekar's grasp and sending _Bitoku no Kaze_ clattering away from the two. The Reaper, stifling a groan of pain, instead angrily roaring out as he entered into Kisame's guard and slammed his fist into the Akatsuki warrior's face, before grabbing his head and with all the strength he could muster, threw Kisame towards the tree, slamming him headfirst into it while Dekar threw himself back.

Kisame was rising to his feet and turning to face him when the ground beneath him erupted violently, the geysers of water he had been using to throw off Dekar and keep him from getting too far away from Kisame now being used against him. The Akatsuki member roared out angrily as he and the tree behind him were thrown hundreds of feet into the air, sailing off into the distance a good ways away before slowly coming back down to earth.

 **(Song Ends)**

No matter how tough someone was, there was no way someone wouldn't be injured from such a fall. Kisame would undoubtedly need time to heal from such an impact, along with his other injuries. Not that Dekar was any better off. Indigo blood poured from the gash on his side and the cut on his shoulder, the Arbiter Harness Armor protecting the right side of his stomach now compromised. His cloak was cut up and tattered in a few spots. The fury and adrenaline that had fueled him earlier now left him, leaving the old Sangheili exhausted and barely able to rise to his feet. Dekar had bruises all over his body, and his muscles felt as if they were on fire. His breath was labored and heavy; his vision blurred slightly as he felt light-headed.

He could still faintly detect Kisame's signature off in the distance, nearing the absolute limit of his sensor ability. Perhaps the crazed Akatsuki swordsman had been alone. If Kisame had any backup, then they were good at hiding it. And this would have been a perfect time to finish him off. As proud a warrior he was, he had to admit he had no more fight in him. Old age had robbed him of much of his stamina, leaving him to rely on his cunning and experience even more than ever. And it had been too long since he battled an S-Ranked Shinobi. He had gotten careless.

Stumbling over to _Bitoku no Kaze_ , he reached down and grasped the sword before returning it to its sheath. Quickly performing some medical aid on himself to stop the bleeding, he then slowly made his way towards town, trying to move as fast as possible but his exhaustion made this a quickened walk at best. For the first time in a long time, the old former Arbiter was at a loss at what to do.

"They... know about Naruto..." Dekar muttered, sucking in air in his lungs as he tried to hurry into town.

"When did the Akatsuki... find out? Did someone in Konoha... tell them?" He closed his eyes tightly, trying to remove the blurriness from his vision, "Why did they... wait till now to come after him?"

"What... do I do? Kushina... your son isn't ready to... to face the Akatsuki... He needs... more time." Dekar called out as if his old friend would suddenly appear beside him and tell him what to do. Maybe her spirit was listening, or perhaps he had gone mad and was rambling at nothing. He stopped for a moment, doubling over and catching his breathing. He looked down at his hands and noted they were shaking slightly.

Slowly, his breathing normalized and his vision lost its blur. Balling his fists, Dekar rose back up and grimly muttered, "And... I fear I do not have much time left..." Dekar quickly began to walk, much faster than before towards Matsukawa, "But I will do what I can... And I will keep my vow until my death. Your son will not be taken, Kushina."

Battered and wounded, the Reaper slowly walked into town, his determination unwavering. He would get Naruto to Uzushiogakure and train him as promised, then get him safely back home to Konoha. At the absolute worst, Dekar could take the boy north to the Dominion's capital and seek asylum for the child. If he were in danger of being taken, then perhaps the best thing to do would be to take him off-world altogether.

 _ **Matsukawa Docks**_

Naruto waited patiently at the docks by their boat, a modest-sized charter boat that had been on sale. After making sure they had enough provisions, mainly meat, drinking water, and a desalinator to help produce more drinking water, a full tank, and spare fuel tanks to fill the boat, and anything they might need for the two months they would be gone, he hadn't had anything to do. So, he sat in his boat, which was named the Marlin by the guy that had previously owned it, and started reading his book that he bought or taking a couple of photos of the town before they left.

He'd never been on a boat this big before, nor had he ever been sailing out into the ocean. The whole prospect excited him to no end. Maybe they'd get a chance to fish while they were out in the sea. Catching a giant shark or something and cook it up!

In light of this exciting prospect, he had bought a couple of fishing poles to use for fishing should they get the opportunity. (Okay, maybe he had been spending a little too much money, it was Dekar's after all, but there was still a good 3 to 3 and a quarter million Ryu in there. Plus, he could argue that the fishing poles were for catching dinner if they needed to. No problem, right?)

At maybe 50 feet in length and 14 feet in width, the boat was reasonably spacious, too, with the 'inside' taking up more than half the vessel's length. The inside had a small kitchen to cook and a couple of small bedrooms they could sleep in or store equipment in. There were even a shower room and a television in the kitchen that could pick up a few channels from satellites, mostly news channels. It may be a bit big for what they need, but Naruto had been thinking and had a couple of good reasons for buying the larger boat.

"Natsu!" Naruto's head snapped up as he saw Dekar, in his human disguise, walking down the pier towards him. Naruto couldn't help but noticed that Dekar's walk seemed... off. Quick in pace but sort of... woozy. Like he was tired or anxious or something. But he disregarded it, thinking maybe it was just something to do with henging into a human and having to walk with legs that were structured differently. Dekar's 'face' had its eyebrows arched, likely at Naruto's choice in a boat.

Hopping up from his seat, Naruto grinned and quickly said, "You find what you were looking for?"

"No. It appears I had been mistaken." Dekar quickly answered, relieved beyond belief that Naruto was okay. He decided that, for now, Naruto didn't need to know of what had happened outside the town. From the talk going on around town, no one seemed to have realized there had even been a battle going on just outside their town. It would do them no good to have Naruto panicking over the Akatsuki. He needed to be focused on his training. "Do you care to explain your purchase here?"

"Okay, I know what you're thinking, and yes, normally this would be a bit large for us to need." Naruto quickly defended, letting Dekar hop on before continuing, "But, I had a thought regarding where we're going. We don't have a lot of scrolls with any space, and we don't have any empty ones left. So, what happens if we come across something important, like... I don't know, a treasure chest or some kinda ancient but powerful armor set while we're in Uzushiogakure?" Naruto asked. When Dekar stayed silent, he continued talking, "Well, we don't want to just leave something like that behind for some bandits or rogue Shinobi to take, right? So, until we can get some more scrolls to seal them away, we can store them on the boat here for safekeeping. This boat's got two bedrooms and even a storage closet, and you and I are only gonna need one bedroom to sleep in so we can store stuff away in if we need to in the other room and the closet until we get ourselves some more spare scrolls!"

Dekar had to admit; he didn't plan for bringing much back, aside from a few ancient Uzumaki scrolls at best. The boy had thought this through. If they found some powerful relics or useful pieces of equipment, they could store them on the boat for later use or at the very least as appeasement gifts for Konoha when they returned.

"I am impressed, Natsu. You have thought this through, and though I am still not sure if a boat this size is the right choice, your reasoning for doing so are sound and logical. Well done." Naruto beamed at the praise, giving his mentor a cheeky grin before walking down to boat's door, which led to the bridge, "Are we ready to go?"

"I am. Are you?"

"Hell yeah! Let's go!" Naruto shouted excitedly.

"Language!" Dekar called out, but Naruto was already removing the ropes keeping the vessel tied to the pier. Dekar shook his head, breathing out a sigh as he walked inside, barely above a limp at this moment to try and hide his injuries from Naruto, to the bridge and explored it. The bridge had a typical layout, wheel in the center with a good field of view around him, with navigational equipment around it for the driver to view and a driver seat for him to sit in. (Unfortunately, he doubted it would hold both him and his armor's combined weight so he would refrain from using it.)

Naruto came running inside, shouting, "We're free! Ready to go!"

Dekar began toying with the controls, looking over what everything did before starting the vessel's engines. After a few moments of studying the controls, he noticed it had an automatic navigation function, letting the ship propel itself to their destination should they need to rest.

"Wait. Do you know how even to pilot a boat this big?" Naruto asked.

"I have interacted with a few in my years since the Dominion showed up. In truth, it is far less complicated to operate than a Phantom Dropship, though few machines are." Dekar grimly remarked, disdaining at the memory of that awful dropship. He didn't care if later models of the Phantom had been made better and more efficient, no dropship would ever amount to the durability, simplicity, and reliability of the old Spirit Dropships as far as he was concerned.

"I can type it in if you need me to." The boy offered.

"No, no. It is fine," Dekar assured, feeling his lightheadedness returning, "I will pull us out of the port and then set the coordinates in for the computer to pilot. You, meanwhile, will rest and conserve your strength. It will be..." Dekar paused speaking for a moment as he finished typing in the coordinates they intended to travel to and waited to see how long it would take, "roughly an hour and a half at most before we arrive at Uzushiogakure. Use this time to rest and prepare yourself. Because when we arrive, I intend to train you to the breaking point and beyond."

Naruto merely nodded, starting to walk off before stopping and pulling something out. Walking back to the Sangheili swordsman, he handed him up a book — one rather thick with pages.

Dekar stared down at the book. "What is this?" He inquired as he took the book from Naruto and inspected it. The title read, 'Field of Roses: the History of the War of Mournful Roses. By Azarov Semenov.'

"I... wanted to get you something. You've always been doing so much for me and I never really thanked you or gotten you anything to show how much I appreciate it." Naruto said, slightly embarrassed, "I don't even know your birthday, not that you've ever told me." He followed with a small pout.

"Keeping up with the day of my birth using Human years would be impractical and maddening, child. I figured it was better not even to bother trying." Dekar replied truthfully. Sangheili years were much longer than human ones, so trying to keep up with a birth that would constantly be changing on the human calendar would have been just impractical; hence he had never bothered. Instead, he merely kept up with it in his mind in Sangheilios years, which as of this moment would put him at 112 years in age.

"Oh." Naruto simply said, "W-well. At any rate, I got you that book because I thought you might enjoy reading it."

Dekar looked down at the book, studying it as the boat slowly backed out from the pier. Azarov Semenov was a name and individual he was familiar with, even if he had met the doctor only twice before his death. He had been incredibly interested in everything Shensei, and Chakra related, calling the planet and its inhabitants one of the greatest mysteries and scientific anomalies of all time. An assessment Dekar agreed with, having spent nearly a full human century living in this world.

Finally, Dekar noticed that Naruto had been expecting him to say something regarding his gift. He would admit he was interested in what the doctor had discovered in his research, so he would likely enjoy the read. There were secrets Uzshiogakure held that even he didn't know about, he was sure. Dekar nodded to the boy, setting the book down on the wheel's station, "It is a thoughtful gift, Naruto. There are probably a few things in here even I did not know about Uzushiogakure. I am certain I will enjoy reading it. Thank you."

Naruto smiled softly, beaming that Dekar had liked the gift. It was good to see the boy in high spirits, even if he was unknowingly being hunted by a vile enemy. In the 4 years that he's known him, Naruto had always seemed to open up more to him than anyone else he interacted with, even his own aunt and cousin that he saw daily, even if he wasn't aware the Yamanakas were part of his family. (He didn't like keeping that from the boy, but Nozomi and Inoichi wanted Naruto to know, and likely Ino too if she didn't already, then they should tell them themselves.) It merely showed just how much Naruto trusted him as a person. And he was going to make damn sure that trust wasn't misplaced.

The boy eventually left for one of the bedrooms, leaving the former Arbiter alone on the bridge. He breathed out a sigh of relief, having managed to hide his injuries and maintain his henge in front of Naruto. Somehow, from his eavesdropping, while in town, no one had even noticed there had been a battle, or if they had word hadn't spread around yet. Naruto didn't seem to be aware so Dekar would not inform him until after they arrived at Uzshiogakure. The boy didn't need to be worrying about him right now. Dekar watched as the boat successfully exited the dock and began piloting itself out to sea, towards their destination. As they cleared the harbor, Dekar decided to retreat to the shower room. He needed to clean himself and tend to his wounds. He walked to the end of the vessel towards the shower room. Opening the door, he was relieved to see that it was a shower room styled after modern Edo bathrooms, which were more like a large sweat room, with a couple small shower heads to use to clean someone off. Had it been one of the bathrooms designed by the Dominion, which to him basically looked like giant fish aquariums with a shower head inside, he doubts he would have been able to fit inside. Unfortunately, he was taller than the room was so he would have to crouch slightly to fit.

Dispelling the henge and locking the door behind him, the Sangheili warrior began the tedious process of removing all of his armor, under armor, and gear. The whole process took nearly 5 minutes to finish, partly from the complexity of the Sangheili Combat Harness and partly due to his injuries, but once they were off Dekar got his first good look at his injuries since the battle ended. The gash on the side of his stomach had clotted over but was still extremely sore and tender. The cut on his shoulder wasn't as bad, but he tended to it nonetheless. His body was covered in bruises and welts, dried blood caking the side of his chest and leg. The muscles in his chest hurt with each deep breath he took. One of his mandibles were swollen and slightly bent inward from the swelling. His head was bruised in a couple of places, too.

To put it simply, he was a mess. Kisame had given him a fight he hadn't had in years. He was old, his stamina and strength not what it used to be. The Reaper was no longer the 'unstoppable fury' he had once been. (Though he knew better than to consider himself unstoppable. There was no truth whatsoever in that claim.) This worried him more than anything. Not on account that Dekar wouldn't be able to fight, but that he wouldn't be able to protect Naruto when he needed it. And now with the Akatsuki after him...

He turned the shower on, grabbing the shower head to spray off the dirt and dried blood. The cold water stung against his skin, especially on his cuts, earning a couple of hisses of discomfort from him as he sprayed off the blood and dirt from his body. The water slowly started warming up, getting about lukewarm as he continued to wash himself and his equipment off. He grabbed _Bitoku no Kaze_ and removed it from its sheath to inspect it. As usual, the blade had no chips or damage visible, just covered in dried blood and grim. He carefully and meticulously cleaned the blade of any filth, taking special care to ensure not a speck of filth remained before sheathing the sword.

For the next 15 minutes, he cleaned off all the grim, dried blood, and dirt from his equipment and his body, while also doing what little medical attention he could for his wounds. Most of the wounds were superficial, the bruises he could deal with and bear until they healed, but it would be the cuts on his body that would be his biggest weaknesses. The cut on his stomach's side would heal, he thought confidently as he opened his medical kit and worked on the injury, but it would take time and would be a massive vulnerability until it properly healed, should any more fights happen. He couldn't help but grimly remember how dishonorable this was, by Sangheili Views. But, after having everything he'd believed in turn out to be a lie, and having spent nearly a whole human century on this strange world, his views have been colored. Besides, he was an Arbiter. He had no honor left, as far as the Sangheili were concerned. His own honor still meant much to him, but in all honesty, Dekar simply didn't care anymore what others thought of him. Let his brethren view him with contempt if they even knew he was still alive, he had a vow he swore to a dying friend. And he intended to keep it, even if he had been 8 years late to fulfill it.

Their best bet would be to keep moving and not stay in one spot for long. Luckily, Uzushio Island was fairly large. Over 50 miles at its longest and slightly over 25 at its widest, there were many places on Uzushio one could disappear in if they needed. Dekar intended to take advantage of that. Putting his gear on was just as tedious as taking it off, largely due to his injuries, but he managed to put it back on before making his way to the bathroom door.

Walking down the hallways, he glanced into one of the bedrooms to see if Naruto was in them. The first one on the left side of the hallway was empty, but he found Naruto asleep in the second bedroom, sprawled out on the bed snoring lightly. A very thick book, titled 'The Whirlpool Chronicles: A History of the Rise and Fall of Whirlpool Country. By Azarov Semenov.' was laying open next to him. He hadn't seen Naruto with this book earlier, so he must have bought this one for himself. It was only natural that the boy would be interested in his ancestral home. He had seen some of the texts that Konoha had kept on their former ally and was thoroughly disappointed by the lack of intel. It didn't matter if it had been some mundane attempt to keep Naruto from learning his heritage or not, he wasn't sure if it was, such a complete disregard for the loyalty and comradery of one of Konoha's oldest allies was an outright insult to Uzushiogakure's memory.

He picked up the book, closing it and setting it on the nightstand next to the bed. Covering the boy up with a blanket, he then pulled out a scroll and extracted Naruto's datapad out of it, setting it on top of the book before leaving the room and walking back towards the bridge. Walking back up to the wheel's station, he glanced down at the book Naruto had gotten him and began to read it.

 _ **50 Minutes Later...  
**_ _ **Southern End of Uzushio Island**_

Naruto woke up with a gasp, his body in a cold sweat as he rose up from the bed. His breathing heavy as he remembered the awful dream he had.

He had been stuck in a nightmare, finding himself back in the forest with the Root Agents, only instead of Dekar being with him, he had found himself alone surrounded by mutilated shambling corpses that had once been the Root Agents, blood pouring out of severed limbs and heads missing half of their form. These shambling bodies dragged him back to Konoha, only it hadn't been the one he knew. This Konoha was nothing but a devastated ruin of itself, buildings destroyed, the Hokage Monument and Mansion flattened, and corpses littering the streets. Entering the village, he was mortified to see some of the corpses coming back to life, some of them being people he loved and cared for. All of them attacked and ridiculed him, calling him 'demon', 'butcher', 'monster'. Asking why he destroyed their homes, murdered their families. It had been unending and horrendous. Finally, at the end of it, he had found himself sprawled out in front of the Yamanaka Compound, now nothing more than a flattened ruin with Nozomi's corpse disemboweled in front of it. Standing in front of him had been his stepfamily, asking him why he had killed them as they pointed at him and accused him of murder. Then the Kitsune-masked Killer, who had murdered his family, stood over him, completely fine unlike everyone else. As she raised her tanto to kill him, all she said was, "I told you that you would answer for what you've done, Kyuubi." before she cut him down.

Naruto swallowed a breath, trying to steady his breathing and calm his nerves.

 **'Good morning... Or rather, it would be, but you're still alive...'**

Naruto shook his head, sucking in deep breaths as he calmed himself down. 'It was just a dream. It wasn't real. None of it was real. None of that is your fault.'

 **'We both know better, demon...'**

Gritting his teeth, Naruto angrily rose out of bed, not even registering the blanket that had been on him despite just collapsing on the bed earlier. He looked out the window to the open ocean, putting a hand up on to the window. Waves gently rolled past the boat as it continued on its course. A couple seagulls could be seen flying in the air, lazily gliding through the winds.

He hated the dreams. He never really told Dekar about them, he didn't want him worrying, but most of his dreams nowadays were just nightmares. Sleep was never something he looked forward to, despite being able to sleep almost an entire day away if he could. But the nightmares, the nightmares he had...

Sometimes, it was his dead step-family, accusing and blaming or killing him in revenge for their deaths. Others were of the Kitsune-masked killer tormenting him and killing him. Other times it was the entire village, sometimes in ruins and sometimes not, attacking him, beating him and spewing all sorts of hate-filled words from their mouths. They never stopped. He wanted nothing more than to have a decent night's sleep.

'It's all gonna be okay. You're going to complete this training, then you're gonna go back to Konoha and become an amazing Shinobi. Then, you'll find the Kitsune Killer and make that bitch pay for what she did to Riley and her family. Believe it.' Naruto reassured himself, finding confidence in the words.

 **'Are you sure?'**

Naruto tunes the voice out as best he can as he turned back to his bed, noticing the nightstand next to him. His eyes widened in surprise as he quickly grabbed his datapad. Dekar gave it back to him! Did this mean he could use it now?! Excitedly, Naruto powered on the Datapad, linking it to his camera to start transferring the photos he took on the camera over to the Datapad. While it was doing this, he changed out of his clothes and quickly went to take a shower.

After finishing with his shower, he changed into a new set of clothes, wearing a simple dark red t-shirt with his vest over top, pouches filled with weapons and supplies, blue shorts, and his old backpack to store other supplies. With his sword on his hip and ready to use, Naruto left the room and walked down to the bridge. Outside the windows, he could see the coastline of an island some quarter mile out from them. Dekar was standing at the helm, reading the book Naruto had gotten him, though it looked like he was nearly done with it. 'Geez. Talk about a speed reader. There was like 500-600 pages in that thing.' Naruto deadpanned.

"Enjoying your book, Sensei?"

Dekar looked up from the book to his ward, nodding, "It is a good read. Semenov had done well in his research."

"Any mention of you in there?" Naruto asked jokingly.

"A few, but not many." Dekar confessed, "My comrades and I's impact in the conflict was minimal at best. The only major battles we fought in was the Battle of Haizu and the Liberation of Iwamoto Castle in the final year of the war. Still, it was interesting to read of our deeds from the viewpoint of a Terran scholar." Dekar continued, speaking only truth in that regard. The War of Mournful Roses had been for the most part a Whirlpool/Lightning Conflict, with minor assistance from Water and Fire Country. His warriors didn't partake in the war until the final year of the conflict, having finally earned enough of the Uzumaki Clan's trust to be allowed outside the Capital.

"Still, I bet you've got some amazing stories from that time. Back before you learned how to harness chakra and use it. Must have been hard fighting Shinobi for you back then." Naruto mused, walking up beside the Sangheili warrior and leaning on the wheel stand beside him.

"It was. But I also had comrades and my equipment functioning to assist me. I had never been more thankful for active camouflage than during my early years on Shensei." Dekar reminisced. Most of his Covenant equipment had been destroyed or degraded beyond repair, at least for him to do. Not even his energy shields worked anymore, the power supply having been damaged and inoperable since before the fall of Uzushiogakure. If he could just acquire a Huragok, then his equipment could be repaired. But there were no Huragoks on Shensei, or if there were then the Dominion had them and would be unwilling to use them to repair a freelancer Sangheili's equipment.

But no time to dwell on the past, as he glanced out the windows, "We are here."

Naruto looked up at the windows as well, then quickly ran outside onto the bow to get a good look at the city before him.

 **(Begin Song - 'Nostalgia' From Naruto OST)**

Outside the windows, the two could see the decayed ruins of a massive city, its buildings, and streets stretching out so far it seemed to consume most of the coastline before them. There were two large harbors that had served as docks a long time ago, a small cliffside separating the two. The raged and decayed wrecks of several ships were still settled inside and outside the ports where they had been destroyed. A couple destroyed lighthouses where visible near the ports, overgrown with vegetation on their structure. The majority of the buildings were burned out or collapsed, though some were still standing strong. Two massive aqueducts, damaged in some parts but still mostly standing and delivering water into the city, approached the city from the East and Northeast, being fed by a small river further inland on the island. A massive maroon wall, towering some 100 feet, lined the entire perimeter of the city edge going further inland but was collapsed and destroyed in several places. Nature had reclaimed the city, with trees and vegetation growing everywhere inside the city ruins. Hills and gentle slopes surrounded the village, the surrounding forest thick with trees and shrubs, and in the distance, a massive mountain towered over the landscape.

Dekar walked out to stand beside Naruto as the boat eased into the nearest harbor entrance, his mind wandering with the memories he had of this place. This city had once been alive, with half a million souls calling it home. Now, it was nothing more than a mass grave and a place to remember bittersweet memories. The last time he had been here was shortly after Kushina died when he came back to... seal away something. Something he felt he no longer deserved to possess after his many failures. Now, he was back here. Once again. This time to try and help keep a vow he made to a dying friend.

 **'Please... Take care of my son... Be there for him and teach him...'**

Dekar inhaled deeply, casting the painful memory aside. Yes. He would keep this vow, even if it killed him. There would be no more failures. Only success or death. He would protect Naruto and train him into the warrior he needed to be. Looking down at Naruto, who was captivated by the sight before him, he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and softly said, "Welcome home Naruto."

 **(Song Ends)**

* * *

 **And that's it for this chapter, hope you enjoyed.**

 **Uzushiogakure's design is inspired and based off of 'Rebuilt Uzu no Kuni' by Supanova89 on Deviantart. (Very well done, Supanova!)**

 **-Azores**


End file.
